Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on

proposed data collection projects, the Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed

projects being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed

project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and

instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1129.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including

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whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy

of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of

the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of

the collection of information on respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or other forms of information

technology.

Proposed Projects

1. National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Professional Training and

Information Questions (PTIQs)--The mission of the National Health

Service Corps (NHSC) is to provide health professionals to those

communities and populations located in federally designated health

professional shortage areas (HPSAs) of greatest need. Through the NHSC

Scholarship Program, health professions students receive scholarship

support in return for a commitment to serve in a HPSA for a specified

period of time. The NHSC will utilize the Professional Training and

Information Questionnaire (PTIQ) to collect information from NHSC

scholarship recipients on individual interests, family concerns, and

assignment preferences which will be used in matching scholars to HPSAs

with the greatest need for providers.

Burden estimates are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responses Total

Type of respondent Number of per Hours per burden

respondents respondent response hours

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physicians.................................................. 200 1 0.50 100

Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Certified

Nurse Midwives............................................. 50 1 0.50 25

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Estimated Total Annual Burden: 125 hours.

2. Annual Administrative Report for Titles I and II of the Ryan

White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990--

Extension and Revision--The Uniform Reporting System provides for

reports by grantees under Titles I and II of the Ryan White CARE Act of

aggregate information about disbursal of funds, number of clients

served and services provided, demographic information about clients

served, and costs of provided services.

Title I grantees include local governments that meet legislative

criteria for disproportionate impact of AIDS. Title II grantees include

the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and a small number of

territories. Grantees obtain the information for the AAR from

individual service providers. Automated reporting alternatives are

available to grantees and to providers at the grantee's option. This

information is used to determine whether the purposes of the Act and

the grants made pursuant to it are being fulfilled. The information is

also used locally for planning and priority setting. Respondents

include state and local governments, individuals, non-profit

institutions, businesses and other for-profit organizations, and small

businesses and entities. HRSA proposes to make some changes in the data

elements, to improve their value and/or reduce the burden of data

collection and reporting. To allow adequate lead time, the changes

would be effective for data collection by service providers beginning

in January, 1998. In addition to minor technical changes, the proposed

changes include:

In all reports, deleting elements concerning total

expenditures and expenditures by accounting categories, because of the

difficulty these elements posed for respondents;

In all reports, adding several age breakouts for adult

clients (currently a single figure is reported for all adults), to

increase the local and national usefulness of the data;

Eliminating the Modified AAR, which was used by fewer than

2% of providers, so that lead or fiscal agents for fee-for-service

arrangements would instead submit a Standard AAR covering all of their

subcontractors;

In the Standard AAR, deleting elements concerning staffing

levels and whether staff were added with CARE funds (useful in initial

reports, these elements would be deleted now to reduce reporting

burden);

In the Standard AAR, adding elements for the number of

clients receiving office-based health services, case management

services, and home health care services (currently only the number of

service encounters in these areas is reported), because of the

importance of knowing how many people are receiving these services;

Also in the Standard AAR, refining the list of ``Other

Health and Social Support Services'' to add several services that have

been cited frequently as important omissions (e.g., alternative

therapy, medications, referrals and translation) and to delete or

consolidate some existing categories (e.g., foster care/adoption and

the two current categories for hospice care); and

In the AIDS Drug Assistance Program AAR, adding some

recently emerging drugs to the list of those to be reported on and

deleting other drugs no longer widely used.

HRSA invites comment on another possible change, which has been

suggested by numerous respondents: deleting the elements in the

Standard AAR that deal with clients' primary HIV exposure categories.

The annual burden estimates are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual

Type of respondent No. of responses per Hours/response Total burden

respondents respondent hours

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

State Grantees.................................. 52 1 63 3,276

Local Grantees.................................. 49 1 25 1,225

Providers....................................... 2,500 1 23 57,500

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated total annual burden: 62,001 hours.

3. Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) Program and Nursing

Student Loan (NSL) Program Administrative Requirements (Regulations and

Policy) (0915-0047)--Extension, No Change--The regulations for the

Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) Program and Nursing Student Loan

(NSL) Program contain a number of reporting and recordkeeping

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requirements for schools and loan applicants. The requirements are

essential for assuring that borrowers are aware of their rights and

responsibilities, that schools know the history and status of each loan

account, that schools pursue aggressive collection efforts to reduce

default rates, and that they maintain adequate records for audit and

assessment purposes. Schools are free to use information technology to

manage the information required by the regulations. The estimated

burden is as follows:

Recordkeeping Requirements:

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Total

Reg./section requirement Number of Hours per burden

recordkeepers year hours

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HPSL Program:

57.206(b)(2) Documentation of Cost of Attendance.................. 290 1.17 339

57.208(a) Promissory Note......................................... 290 1.25 363

57.210(b)(1)(i) Documentation of Entrance Interview............... 290 1.25 363

57.210(b)(1)(ii) Documentation of Exit Interview.................. 313 .33 103

57.215 (a) & (d) Program Records.................................. 313 10 3,130

57.215(b) Student Records......................................... 313 10 3,130

57.215(c) Repayment Records....................................... 313 18.75 5,869

-----------------------------------------

HPSL subtotal................................................. 313 42.48 13,297

NSL Program:

57.306(b)(2)(ii) Documentation of Cost of Attendance.............. 435 .3 131

57.308(a) Promissory Note......................................... 435 .5 218

57.310(b)(1)(i) Documentation of Entrance Interview............... 435 .5 218

57.310(b)(1)(ii) Documentation of Exit Interview.................. 909 .17 155

57.315 (a)(1) & (a)(4) Program Records............................ 909 5.0 4,545

57.315(a)(2) Student Records...................................... 909 1.0 909

57.315(a)(3) Repayment Records.................................... 909 2.5 2,273

-----------------------------------------

NSL subtotal.................................................. 909 10.56 8,449

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Reporting Requirements:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responses Total

Req./Sect. Requirement No. of Per Annual House Per Total Hour

Respondents Respondent Responses Response Burden

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HPSL Program:

57.205(a)(2) Excess Case.................

(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044 and 0915-

0046]

57.206(a)(3) Student Financial Aid

Transcrip............................... 5,000 1 5,000 0.25 1,250

57.208(c) Loan Information Disclosure.... 290 72.41 21,000 .083 1,743

57.210(a)(3) Deferment Eligibility.......

(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]

57.210(b)(1)(i) Entrance Interview....... 290 72.41 21,000 .167 3,507

57.210(b)(1)(ii) Exit Interview.......... 313 15.97 5,000 .483 2,415

57.210(b)(1)(iii) Notification of

Repayment............................... 313 35.14 11,000 .167 1,837

57.210(b)(1)(iv) Notification During

Deferment............................... 313 28.75 9,000 .083 747

57.210(b)(1)(vi) Notification of

Delinquent Accounts..................... 313 15.97 5,000 .167 835

57.210(b)(1)(x) Credit Bureau

Notification............................ 313 12.78 4,000 .6 2,400

57.210(b)(4)(i) Write-off of

Uncollectible Loans..................... 26 1.8 48 .5 24

57.211(a) Disability Cancellation........ 16 1 16 .75 12

57.215(a) Reports........................

(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]

57.215(a)(2) Admin. Hearings............. 0 0 0 0 0

57.216a(d) Admin. Hearings............... 0 0 0 0 0

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HPSL Subtotal........................ 5,313 15.26 81,064 .182 14,770

==================================================================

NSL Program:

57.305(a)(2) Excess Cash.................

(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044 and 0915-

0046]

57.306(a)(2) Student Financial Aid

Transcript.............................. 3,000 1 3,000 .25 750

57.310(b)(1)(i) Entrance Interview....... 435 27.59 12,000 .167 2,004

57.310(b)(1)(ii) Exit Interview.......... 909 4.4 4,000 .483 1,932

57.310(b)(1)(iii) Notification of

Repayment............................... 909 7.37 6,700 .167 1,119

57.310(b)(1)(iv) Notification During

Deferment............................... 909 .77 700 .083 58

57.310(b)(1)(vi) Notification of

Delinquent Accounts..................... 909 5.5 5,000 .167 835

57.310(b)(1)(x) Credit Bureau

Notification............................ 909 9.9 9,000 .6 5,400

57.310(b)(4)(i) Write-off of

Uncollectible Loans..................... 45 2.13 96 .5 48

57.311(a) Disability Cancellation........ 14 1 14 .75 11

57.312(a)(3) Evidence of Educational

Loans...................................

(4) [Inactive provision]

57.315(a)(1) Reports.....................

(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]

57.315(a)(1)(ii) Admin. Hearings......... 0 0 0 0 0

57.316a(d) Admin. Hearings............... 0 0 0 0 0

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NSL Subtotal......................... 3,909 10.36 40,510 .30 12,157

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Estimated total annual burden: 48,673 hours.

Send comments to Patricia Royston, HRSA Reports Clearance Officer,

Room 14-36, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Dated: February 28, 1996.

J. Henry Montes,

Associate Administrator for Policy Coordination.

[FR Doc. 96-4475 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-15-M