[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6959-6960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02354]


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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; Ending the HIV Epidemic 
(EHE), OMB No. 0906-xxxx--New

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than March 9, 
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.
    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on October 
15, 2019, vol. 84, No. 199; pp. 55163-64. There was one public comment.

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: Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) 
Triannual Module, OMB No. 0906-xxxx --New.
    Abstract: HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) funds and 
coordinates with cities, states, and local clinics/community-based 
organizations to deliver efficient and effective HIV care, treatment, 
and support to low income people with HIV. Nearly two-thirds of clients 
(patients) live at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level 
and approximately three-quarters of RWHAP clients are racial/ethnic 
minorities. Since 1990, the RWHAP has developed a comprehensive system 
of safety net providers who deliver high quality direct health care and 
support services to over half a million people with HIV--more than 50 
percent of all people with diagnosed HIV in the United States.

Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America

    In February 2019, the Administration announced a new initiative, 
Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE). Authorized by 
section 311(c) and title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act, this 
10-year initiative beginning in FY 2020 seeks to achieve the important 
goal of reducing new HIV infections in the United States to fewer than 
3,000 per year by 2030. EHE will focus on 48 counties, Washington, DC, 
San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 7 states that have a substantial rural HIV 
burden. By focusing on these jurisdictions in the first phase of the 
EHE, HHS plans to reduce new HIV infections by 75 percent within 5 
years. Across the United States, the EHE will promote and implement 
four Pillars to substantially reduce HIV transmissions--diagnose, 
treat, prevent, and respond. EHE is a collaborative effort among key 
HHS agencies, primarily HRSA, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health 
Service, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration. RWHAP will focus on implementing activities in the 
Pillar Two: Treat and supporting Pillar Four: Respond for this 
important initiative.
    HRSA identified proposed data collection needs to support HRSA's 
efforts toward ending the HIV epidemic. To reach this goal, HRSA needs 
to have the ability to monitor initiative activities including funding 
allocations, expenditures, service utilization, and clients served; and 
assess progress toward meeting national goals for ending the HIV 
epidemic. HRSA proposes that recipients and service providers 
(subrecipients) who receive EHE initiative funding report on the

[[Page 6960]]

reach of EHE initiative activities in a new EHE Triannual Module.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA proposes that 
service providers who receive EHE Initiative funding report aggregate 
information on the number of clients receiving specific services and 
the number of clients who were prescribed antiretroviral medications in 
the previous four months (beginning in March 2020). This information 
would complement the annual information collected through the Ryan 
White Services Report (RSR) and other reporting mechanisms. Service 
providers will report three times per year on clients who received at 
least one service during the previous four month period.
    This module will provide HRSA with frequent and timely data on EHE 
Initiative progress by providing information on the number of clients 
who are reached through the EHE Initiative during each four month 
reporting period. In addition, HRSA can calculate the number of clients 
who did not receive services in the previous year by subtracting the 
number of clients who received services in the previous year and the 
number of new clients from the total number of clients. This will 
provide valuable information on the scope of outreach to new clients 
and clients who have had a lapse in service which could be an 
indication of reengagement in care. These calculations will be similar 
to calculations using the new RSR variables. This module will support 
project officer monitoring and HRSA's understanding of service 
provision.
    Likely Respondents: RWHAP Part A and Part B Recipients and 
Subrecipients funded by the EHE Initiative.
    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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EHE Triannual Module............              47               3             141               1             141
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total.......................              47  ..............             141  ..............             141
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Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-02354 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P