Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

Periodically, the Health Resources and Services Administration

(HRSA) publishes abstracts of information collection requests under

review by the Office of Management and Budget, in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a

copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, call the

HRSA Reports Clearance Office on (301)-443-1129.

The following request has been submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995.

Proposed Project: The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan

Repayment Program (OMB No. 0915-0127)--Extension and Revision. The NHSC

Loan Repayment Program (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.

This request for extension of OMB approval will include the NHSC

LRP application and loan verification form, as well as two new forms: a

Site Information Form and Request for Method of Advanced Loan Repayment

Form. In an effort to improve the procedure for recruiting NHSC

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

application process, the following changes are proposed:

(1) The applicant will submit a ``Site Information Form'' rather

than a copy of the signed employment contact. This form provides

information about the proposed employment site, requiring 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 must be submitted with the

application form. To obtain that form, applicants must submit a written

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

the NPDB request form with the LRP application.

The estimate of burden is as follows:

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Number of Responses per Total hour

Respondent respondents respondent Hours per response burden

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

Applicants........................... 800 1 1.5...................... 1200

Lenders.............................. 45 1 15 minutes............... 11

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Total............................ 845 ....................... 1211

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Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed

information collection should be sent within 30 days of this notice to:

Wendy A. Taylor, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of

[[Page 63327]]

Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235,

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: November 4, 1998.

Jane Harrison,

Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.

[FR Doc. 98-30221 Filed 11-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-15-P