[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 22 (Monday, February 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5967-5969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01933]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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; The National Health 
Service Corps Loan Repayment Programs, OMB No. 0912-0127 Revision

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 
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. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30 day 
comment period for this Notice has closed.

DATES: Comments on this Information Collection Request must be received 
no later than March 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the ICR 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 Lisa Wright-Solomon, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Information Collection Request Title: The National Health Service 
Corps Loan Repayment Programs, OMB No. 0915-0127 Revision.
    Abstract: The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment 
Program (LRP) was established to assure an adequate supply of trained 
primary care health professionals to provide services in the neediest 
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) of the United States. The 
NHSC Substance Use

[[Page 5968]]

Disorder (SUD) Workforce LRP and the NHSC Rural Community LRP were 
established to recruit and retain a health professional workforce with 
specific training and credentials to provide evidence-based SUD 
treatment in HPSAs. Under these programs, HHS agrees to repay the 
qualifying educational loans of selected primary care health 
professionals. In return, the health professionals agree to serve for a 
specified period of time in an NHSC-approved site located in a 
federally-designated HPSA approved by the Secretary for LRP 
participants.
    The forms utilized by each LRP include the following: (1) The NHSC 
LRP Application, the Authorization for Disclosure of Loan Information 
form, (2) the Privacy Act Release Authorization form, and if 
applicable, (3) the Verification of Disadvantaged Background form, and 
(4) the Private Practice Option form. The first three of the 
aforementioned NHSC LRP forms collect information that is needed for 
selecting participants and repaying qualifying educational loans. The 
last referenced form, the Private Practice Option Form, is needed to 
collect information for all participants who have applied for that 
service option.
    NHSC-approved sites are health care facilities that provide 
comprehensive outpatient, ambulatory, primary health care services to 
populations residing in HPSAs. Related in-patient services may be 
provided by NHSC-approved Critical Access Hospitals and Indian Health 
Service hospitals. In order to become an NHSC-approved site, new sites 
must submit a Site Application for review and approval. Existing NHSC-
approved sites are required to complete a Site Recertification 
Application every 3 years in order to maintain their NHSC-approved 
status. Both the NHSC Site Application and Site Recertification 
Application request information on the clinical service site, 
sponsoring agency, recruitment contact, staffing levels, service users, 
charges for services, employment policies, and fiscal management 
capabilities. Assistance in completing these applications may be 
obtained through the appropriate State Primary Care Offices and the 
NHSC. The information collected on the applications is used for 
determining the eligibility of sites for the assignment of NHSC health 
professionals and to verify the need for NHSC clinicians. NHSC service 
site approval is valid for 3 years.
    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on July 18, 
2019, vol. 84, No. 138; pp. 34402-03. There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The need and purpose of 
this information collection is to assess an LRP applicant's eligibility 
and qualifications for the LRP and to obtain information for NHSC site 
applicants. The NHSC LRP application asks for personal, professional 
and financial/loan information.
    The proposed revisions in this ICR include asking applicants to 
provide their educational information on the completion of advanced 
training such as the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) 
Champion fellowship. To identify the PCTE Champions, the NHSC will 
require applicants to respond to the following additional questions and 
submit their National Practitioner Identifier (NPI):
    (1) Have you completed a fellowship?
    (2) Applicants who selected ``yes'' to the question above are 
required to submit the NPI number.
    NHSC policy requires behavioral health providers to practice in a 
community-based setting that provides access to comprehensive 
behavioral health services. Accordingly, for those sites seeking to be 
assigned behavioral health NHSC participants, additional site 
information will be collected from an NHSC Comprehensive Behavioral 
Health Services Checklist. NHSC sites that do not directly offer all 
required behavioral health services must demonstrate a formal 
affiliation with a comprehensive, community-based primary behavioral 
health setting or facility to provide these services.
    Likely Respondents: Likely respondents include: (1) Licensed 
primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health 
providers who are employed or seeking employment, and are interested in 
serving underserved populations; (2) health care facilities interested 
in participating in the NHSC and becoming an NHSC-approved service 
site; and (3) NHSC sites providing behavioral health care services 
directly, or through a formal affiliation with a comprehensive 
community-based primary behavioral health setting or facility providing 
comprehensive behavioral health services.
    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:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHSC LRP Application............           9,020               1           9,020            1.00           9,020
Authorization for Disclosure of            7,150               1           7,150             .10             715
 Loan Information Form..........
Privacy Act Release                          303               1             303             .10              30
 Authorization Form.............
Verification of Disadvantaged                660               1             660             .50             330
 Background Form................
Private Practice Option Form....             330               1             330             .10              33
NHSC Comprehensive Behavioral              4,400               1           4,400             .13             572
 Health Services Checklist......
NHSC Site Application (including           4,070               1           4,070             .50           2,035
 recertification)...............
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................          25,933  ..............          25,933  ..............          12,735
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 5969]]

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-01933 Filed 1-31-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P