[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 84 (Thursday, April 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23975-23976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09172]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: Teaching 
Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program Cost Evaluation, OMB 
No. 0906--XXXX--New

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than June 29, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Lisa Wright-
Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 
443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Teaching Health Centers 
Graduate Medical Education Program Cost Evaluation, OMB No. 0906-XXXX--
New.
    Abstract: The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education 
(THCGME) program, authorized by Section 340H of the Public Health 
Service Act, was established by Section 5508 of Public Law (Pub. L.) 
111-148. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123) provided 
continued funding for the THCGME program for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 
and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act extends 
funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 for the first two months of FY 2021 
(until November 30, 2020).
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The THCGME program awards 
payment for both direct and indirect expenses to support training for 
primary care residents in community-based ambulatory patient care 
settings. Direct medical expense payments are designed to compensate 
eligible teaching health centers (THC) for those expenses directly 
associated with sponsoring approved graduate medical residency training 
programs, while indirect medical expense payments are intended to 
compensate for the additional costs of training residents in such 
programs. The primary goals of this program are to increase the 
production of primary care providers who are better prepared to 
practice in community settings, particularly with underserved 
populations, and improve the geographic distribution of primary care 
providers.
    The statute requires the Secretary of HHS (the Secretary) to 
determine an appropriate THCGME program payment for indirect medical 
expenses (IME) as well as to update, as deemed appropriate, the per 
resident amount used to determine the Program's payment for direct 
medical expenses (DME). To inform these determinations and to increase 
understanding of this model of residency training, the George 
Washington University, under contract with HRSA, is conducting an 
evaluation of the costs associated with training residents in the THC 
model. George Washington University has developed a standardized THC 
Costing Instrument to gather data from all THCGME programs which they 
will use to gather costing information related to both DME and IME. The 
information gathered in the THC Costing Instrument includes, but is not 
limited to, resident and faculty full-time equivalents salaries and 
benefits, residency administration costs, educational costs, residency 
clinical operations and administrative costs, patient visits and 
clinical revenue generated by medical residents, financial reports, as 
well as general program information to understand the characteristics 
of the THCGME program and sponsoring institutions that are involved in 
residency training.
    HRSA is collecting costing information related to both DME and IME 
in an effort to establish a THC's total cost of running a residency 
program, to assist the Secretary in determining an appropriate update 
to the per resident amount used to calculate the payment for DME and an 
appropriate IME payment. The described data collection activities will 
serve to inform these statutory requirements for the Secretary in a 
uniform and consistent manner.
    Likely Respondents: The likely responders to the THC Costing 
Instrument are THCGME program award recipients.
    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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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response  (in       hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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Teaching Health Center Costing                56               1              56              10             560
 Instrument.....................
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    Total.......................              56  ..............              56  ..............             560
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) The necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance

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the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, 
and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-09172 Filed 4-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P