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 for opportunity for public

comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), 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, 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 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 Project: The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan

Repayment Program (LRP) Application and Regulations, and NHSC State

Loan Repayment Program Regulations (OMB No. 0915-0127)--

Revision and Extension--The NHSC LRP was established to assure an

adequate supply of trained primary care health professionals to the

neediest communities in the Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)

of the United States. Under this program, the Department of Health and

Human Services agrees to repay the educational loans of the primary

care health professionals. In return, the health professionals agree to

serve for a specified period of time in a federally-designated HPSA

approved by the Secretary for LRP participants. The State Loan

Repayment Program (SLRP) is a similar program administered by the

States, with matching funds provided by the Federal Government.

This request for extension of OMB approval will include the NHSC

LRP application and loan verification form, as well as two minor

regulatory requirements, one for the NHSC LRP and the other for the

SLRP (described in footnotes to the burden table).

In an effort to improve the procedure for recruiting NHSC LRP

applicants and to alleviate some of the burden and delay in the

application process, three minor changes are being proposed:

(1) Instead of submitting a copy of the signed employment contract

with the application, the applicant will submit a ``Site Information

Form,'' which requires information from the applicant about the

proposed employment site, and requires only a signature and date from

the Site Administrator/Executive Officer. This change will allow HRSA

to begin consideration of the application at an earlier stage, since a

signed employment contract generally takes more time to negotiate.

(2) A new one-page form, ``The Request for Method of Advanced Loan

Repayment'' form, will be included with the application. It provides a

description of three methods of payment (quarterly, annually and

biennially), and asks applicants to select the method they prefer.

(3) Applicants now obtain a self-report from the National

Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) which they submit with the application

form. To obtain that report, the applicant must submit a written

request to the NPDB. To expedite that process, HRSA proposes to send

the NPDB request form with the LRP application.

Estimates of Annualized Hour Burden: The changes to the application

process are not expected to have a significant impact on applicant

burden. Burden estimates are as follows:

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Responses Total

Form/regulatory requirement Number of per Hours per burden

respondents respondent response hours

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

NHSC LRP Application....................................... 800 1 1.5 1,200

Loan Verification Form..................................... *400 1 .25 100

Regulatory Requirements**.................................. 1 1 1 1

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

Total................................................ 1,201 1 1.08 1,301

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* The remainder of the loans are verified through credit reports.

[[Page 34302]]

**42 CFR 62.26(b)(2) requires that LRP participants who continue graduate training after acceptance into the

program must submit documentation annually of their training status. This provision has not been used for some

time because all recent participants have completed graduate training prior to entry into the program.

42 CFR 62.54 requires States to submit annual applications to

participate in the SLRP. The application burden is included in a

separate clearance package because the program uses a standard grant

application form.

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: June 19, 1997.

James J. Corrigan,

Acting Associate Administrator for Management and Program Support.

[FR Doc. 97-16561 Filed 6-24-97; 8:45 am]

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