[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11304-11305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03749]


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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; Information Collection 
Request Title: Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing Program Data 
Collection, OMB No. 0906-0056--Extension

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with of 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 26, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

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: Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 
Testing Program Data Collection, OMB No. 0906-0056--Extension.
    Abstract: This ICR is for continued approval of the Rural Health 
Clinic (RHC) COVID-19 Testing Program Data Collection. HRSA is 
proposing to continue this data collection with no changes. The current 
performance measures are collected electronically in the RHC COVID-19 
Testing Report (CTR), which funded providers access via 
rhccovidreporting.com. RHC COVID-19 Testing Program Data Collection 
supports the HRSA requirement to monitor and report on funds 
distributed under the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care 
Enhancement Act. Signed into law on April 24, 2020, the Paycheck 
Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act appropriated $225 
million to RHCs to support COVID-19 testing efforts, expand access to 
testing in rural communities, and other related expenses. On May 20, 
2020, HRSA issued funding as one-time payments to 2,406 RHC 
organizations based on the number of certified clinic sites they 
operate, providing $49,461.42 per clinic site (4,549 RHC clinic sites 
total across the country).
    The RHC CTR collects monthly, aggregate data from funded 
organizations. Funded organizations provide basic identifying 
information, report on the number of and location of testing sites, 
indicate how they used the funds, and report the total number of 
patients tested and the number of tests with a positive result.
    Funded organizations must report the number of patients tested and 
the number of positive tests on a monthly

[[Page 11305]]

basis for the duration of the reporting period. HRSA will use this 
information to evaluate the effectiveness of COVID-19 Testing Program 
at an aggregate level, assist HRSA in understanding how RHC COVID-19 
Testing Program funding is being used to support RHC organizations and 
patients, and ensure that HRSA is compliant with federal reporting 
requirements.
    A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on December 10, 
2020, vol. 85, No. 238; p. 79492. There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The RHC CTR is designed 
to collect information from funded providers who use RHC COVID-19 
Testing Program funding to support COVID-19 testing efforts, expand 
access to testing in rural communities, and other related expenses. 
These data are critical to meet HRSA requirements to monitor and report 
on how federal funding is being used and to measure the effectiveness 
of RHC CTR. Specifically, these data will be used to assess the 
following:
     Whether program funds are being spent for their intended 
purposes;
     Where COVID-19 testing supported by these funds is 
occurring;
     Number of patients tested for COVID-19; and
     Results of provided COVID-19 tests.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents are RHC organizations who received 
funding for COVID-19 testing and related expenses.
    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 responses    per response     Total burden
                                                                       respondents       respondent                        (in hours)         hours
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RHC COVID-19 Testing Report........................................           2,406               12           28,872              .25            7,218
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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 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. 2021-03749 Filed 2-23-21; 8:45 am]
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