[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 159 (Friday, August 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46855-46856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17834]


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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: Updates 
to Uniform Standard for Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core 
Medical Services Expenditure Requirement, 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 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) is 
being forwarded by HRSA to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval. 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 September 
20, 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: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Updates to Uniform Standard 
for Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core Medical Services 
Expenditure Requirement, OMB No. 0906-XXXX-NEW.
    Abstract: In accordance with sections 2604(c), 2612(b), and 2651(c) 
of the Public Health Service Act, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) 
recipients are required to spend not less than 75 percent of grant 
funds on core medical services for individuals with HIV identified and 
eligible under the statute, after reserving statutory permissible 
amounts for administrative and clinical quality management costs. The 
RWHAP statute also grants the Secretary authority to waive this 
requirement for RWHAP Parts A, B, or C recipients if a number of 
requirements are met and a waiver request is submitted to HRSA for 
approval. RWHAP Part A, B, and C core medical services waiver 
requests--if approved--are effective for a 1-year budget period, and 
apply to funds awarded under the Minority AIDS Initiative.
    Currently, for a core medical services waiver request to be 
approved, (1) core medical services must be available and accessible to 
all individuals identified and eligible for the RWHAP in the 
recipient's service area within 30 days, without regard to payer 
source; (2) there cannot be any AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting 
lists in the recipient's service area; and (3) a public process to 
obtain input on the waiver request from impacted communities, including 
clients and RWHAP-funded core medical services providers, on the 
availability of core medical services and the decision to request the 
waiver must have occurred. The public process may be a part of the same 
one used to seek input on community needs as part of the annual 
priority setting and resource allocation, comprehensive planning, 
statewide coordinated statement of need, public planning, and/or needs 
assessment processes.
    HRSA is proposing to simplify the waiver request process for RWHAP 
Parts A, B, and C recipients by revising Policy Number 13-07: Uniform 
Standard for Waiver of Core Medical Services Requirement for Grantees 
Under Part, A, B, and C. The proposed changes would reduce the 
administrative burden for recipients by lessening the documentation 
they must submit to HRSA when requesting a waiver. Under the proposed 
policy, recipients would be required to submit a one-page ``HRSA RWHAP 
Core Medical Services Waiver Request Attestation Form'' to HRSA in lieu 
of the multiple documents, including but not limited to a narrative of 
up to 10 pages currently required to submit a waiver request. Waiver 
request submission deadlines would also be revised. When finalized, the 
policy would replace HAB Policy Number 13-07 effective October 1, 2021, 
and would be named ``Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core 
Medical Services Expenditure Requirement.''

[[Page 46856]]

    A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on April 20, 
2021, vol. 86, No. 74, pp. 20499-20500. No public comments were 
received in response to the ICR.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA uses the 
documentation submitted in core medical services waiver requests to 
determine if the grant applicant or recipient meets the statutory 
requirements for waiver eligibility outlined in Sections 2604(c), 
2612(b), and 2651(c) of the Public Health Service Act.
    Likely Respondents: HRSA expects responses from RWHAP Parts A, B, 
and C grant applicants and recipients. The number of grant recipients 
requesting waivers has fluctuated annually and has ranged from 15 to 22 
per year since the waiver process was implemented in FY 2007.
    Given the changes in the health care environment, HRSA anticipates 
receiving possibly up to 22 applications in a given year.
    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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Waiver Request..................              22               1              22               4              88
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                                              22  ..............              22  ..............              88
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    HRSA notes that this proposed process represents a decrease in 
burden when compared to the current policy outlined in PN 13-07 due in 
part to the elimination of the requirement to prepare and submit a 
narrative and multiple documents. 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. 2021-17834 Filed 8-19-21; 8:45 am]
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