[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2938-2940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00819]


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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; The National Health 
Service Corps Loan Repayment Programs

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 February 17, 2023.

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 more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Samantha Miller, 
the acting HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at 301-594-
4394.

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 Health 
Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) of the United States with the 
greatest need. The NHSC Substance Use Disorder 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 substance use disorder treatment in HPSAs. Under 
these programs, the Department of Health and Human Services 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 of Health and Human 
Services for LRP participants.
    The forms used by each LRP include the following: (1) the NHSC LRP 
Application, (2) the Authorization for Disclosure of Loan Information 
Form, (3) the Privacy Act Release Authorization Form, and, if 
applicable, (4) the Verification of Disadvantaged Background Form, and 
(5) the Private Practice Option Form. The first four of the 
aforementioned NHSC LRP Forms collect information that is needed for

[[Page 2939]]

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 October 
31, 2022, vol. 87, No. 209; pp. 65598-00. There were no public 
comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The need and proposed use 
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 postgraduate 
training. The NHSC will use this information to identify graduates or 
completers of the following HRSA-funded programs: the Primary Care 
Training and Enhancement: Training Primary Care Champions Program, the 
Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program, the Teaching Health Center 
Graduate Medical Education Program, the Advanced Nursing Education 
Nurse Practitioner Residency Program, and the Advanced Nursing 
Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program. To identify 
the graduates or completers of these HRSA-funded programs, the NHSC 
will require applicants to respond to the following additional 
questions:
    (1) Have you completed a postgraduate training?
    (2) Applicants who selected ``yes'' to the question above are 
required to submit the National Practitioner Identifier number.
    (3) Further, if applicable, applicants are asked to enter the 
residency identification number and their residency completion 
certificate, if available.
    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 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 Information Collection Request 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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NHSC LRP........................           9,020               1           9,020            1.00           9,020
Application.....................
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.................             660               1             660             .50             330
Disadvantaged 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...........           4,070               1           4,070              .5           2,035
(including recertification).....
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    Total.......................          25,933  ..............          25,933  ..............          12,735
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[[Page 2940]]

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2023-00819 Filed 1-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P