[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 7818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03014]



[[Page 7818]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than March 17, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the Information Collection 
Request Title, to the desk officer for HRSA, either by email to 
[email protected] or by fax to 202-395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email the HRSA Information 
Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or call (301) 443-
1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Information Collection Request Title: Medicare Rural Hospital 
Flexibility Grant Program Performance.
    OMB No.: 0915-0363--Revision.
    Abstract: The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex) is 
authorized by Section 1820 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-
4), as amended. Flex engages 45 state-designated entities in activities 
relating to planning and implementing rural health care plans and 
networks; designating facilities as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs); 
providing support for CAHs for quality improvement, quality reporting, 
performance improvements, and benchmarking; and integrating rural 
emergency medical services (EMS). Given the shifting priorities in 
health care related to delivery system reform, Flex provides funding 
for states to also deliver technical assistance in activities 
supporting population health management and the integration of 
innovative care models. State-designated Flex programs act as a 
resource and focal point for these activities, promoting the stability 
and delivery of high quality health care services for residents in 
rural communities. Identifying areas for program improvement and 
enhanced technical assistance in a systematic approach is paramount. 
The revised measures identified in the Flex Program complement work 
plan data and take into consideration existing measures and priorities 
set forth by HHS, avoiding duplication of efforts and minimizing burden 
as indicated by public comments and programmatic feedback from 
partners.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: For this program, 
measures were revised to provide performance data useful to the Flex 
Program and provide aggregate program data required by Congress under 
the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 2010. These 
measures cover principal topic areas of interest to the Federal Office 
of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) including: (a) Quality reporting; (b) 
quality improvement interventions; (c) financial and operational 
improvement initiatives; (d) population health management and EMS 
integration; and (e) innovative care models. Several measures related 
to critical access hospitals (CAHs) making improvements will be used 
for this program and will inform FORHP's progress toward meeting the 
goals set in GPRA. Furthermore, obtaining this information is important 
for identifying and understanding improvement trends across Flex 
program areas, prioritizing areas of need with technical assistance and 
support for grantees, and guiding future iterations of the Flex 
Program.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents will be the Flex Program 
coordinator for each state participating in the Flex Program. There are 
currently 45 states participating in the Flex Program.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                    Total Estimated Annualized Burden--Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Medicare Rural Hospital                       45               1              45              70           3,150
 Flexibility Grant Program
 Performance....................
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    Total.......................              45               1              45              70           3,150
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Jackie Painter,
Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2016-03014 Filed 2-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P