Notice of Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area Redesignation for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in the State of Connecticut, 22730-22731 [2024-06904]
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22730
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 2, 2024 / Notices
that the Advisory Committee on
Minority Health (ACMH) will hold a
meeting conducted as a webcast on
April 18, 2024. This virtual meeting will
be open to the public. Registration is
required for the public to attend the
meeting, provide comment, and/or
distribute material(s) to ACMH
members. Any individual who wishes to
participate in the virtual meeting should
register using the Zoom registration link
provided below by 5:00 p.m. EDT on
April 12, 2024. Instructions regarding
participating in the call and providing
written or verbal public comments will
be provided after meeting registration
occurs. Information about the meeting
will be posted on the HHS Office of
Minority Health (OMH) website:
www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov.
Information about ACMH activities can
be found on the OMH website under the
heading About OMH, Committees and
Working Groups.
DATES: The ACMH meeting will be held
on April 18, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to
10:30 a.m. EDT. If the Committee
completes its work before 10:30 a.m.,
the meeting will adjourn early.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held
virtually and will be accessible by
webcast. Instructions regarding webcast
access and providing written or verbal
public comments will be given after
meeting registration occurs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Violet Woo, Designated Federal Officer,
Advisory Committee on Minority
Health, OMH, HHS, Tower Building,
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 100,
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Phone: 240–
453–6816; email: OMH-ACMH@hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with Public Law 105–392,
the ACMH was established to provide
advice to the Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Minority Health on the development
of goals and program activities related to
OMH’s duties.
The topics to be discussed during the
virtual meeting include finalizing: (1)
meeting notes of the February 13–14,
2024 ACMH meeting; and (2)
recommendations on how OMH and
HHS can support community
awareness, education and engagement
on HHS efforts to implement revised
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Statistical Policy Directive No.
15: Standards for Maintaining,
Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data
on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15). The
final recommendations will be given to
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Minority Health to inform efforts related
to implementation of the revised OMB
standards. Information on OMB’s
Interagency Technical Working Group
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:06 Apr 01, 2024
Jkt 262001
on Race and Ethnicity Standards can be
found on this website:
spd15revision.gov.
Any individual who wishes to attend
the meeting must register via the Zoom
registration link, https://
www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/
vJItce2spj0jHw9b9h15hNrFezljtnit0_g,
by 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 12, 2024.
Each registrant should provide their
name, affiliation, phone number, email
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they have requests for special
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language interpretation. After
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connection link is unique to each
registrant and should not be shared.
Members of the public will have an
opportunity to provide comments at the
meeting. Individuals should indicate
during registration whether they intend
to provide written or verbal comment.
Public comments will be limited to two
minutes per speaker during the time
allotted. Written statements are limited
to two pages. If the two-page limit is
exceeded, the full statement will not be
included. Registered members of the
public who plan to submit and
distribute electronic or printed public
statements or material(s) related to this
meeting’s topic should email the
material to OMH-ACMH@hhs.gov at
least five (5) business days prior to the
meeting.
Dated: March 25, 2024.
Violet Woo,
Designated Federal Officer, Advisory
Committee on Minority Health.
[FR Doc. 2024–06855 Filed 4–1–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–29–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Indian Health Service
Notice of Purchased/Referred Care
Delivery Area Redesignation for the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in
the State of Connecticut
Indian Health Service,
Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Final notice.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
the Indian Health Service (IHS) has
decided to expand the geographic
boundaries of the Purchased/Referred
Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) for the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to
include the counties of Fairfield,
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00068
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New
Haven, Tolland, and Windham in the
State of Connecticut. The final PRCDA
for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation now includes the Connecticut
counties of Fairfield, Hartford,
Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New
London, Tolland, and Windham. The
sole purpose of this expansion is to
authorize additional Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation members and
eligible IHS beneficiaries to receive
purchased/referred care (PRC) services.
DATES: This expansion is effective as of
the publication date of this notice.
ADDRESSES: This notice can be found at
https://www.federalregister.gov. Written
requests for information should be
delivered to: CAPT John Rael, Director,
Office of Resource Access and
Partnerships, Indian Health Service,
5600 Fishers Lane, Mail Stop 10E85C,
Rockville, MD 20857, or by phone at
(301) 443–0969 (this is not a toll-free
number).
The IHS
provides services under regulations in
effect as of September 15, 1987, and
republished at 42 CFR part 136,
subparts A–C. Subpart C defines a
Contract Health Service Delivery Area
(CHSDA), now referred to as a PRCDA,
as the geographic area within which
PRC will be made available by the IHS
to members of an identified Indian
community who reside in the PRCDA.
Residence within a PRCDA by a person
who is within the scope of the Indian
health program, as set forth in 42 CFR
136.12, creates no legal entitlement to
PRC but only potential eligibility for
services. Services needed, but not
available at an IHS/Tribal facility, are
provided under the PRC program
depending on the availability of funds,
the relative medical priority of the
services to be provided, and the actual
availability and accessibility of alternate
resources in accordance with the
regulations.
The regulations at 42 CFR part 136,
subpart C provide that, unless otherwise
designated, a PRCDA shall consist of a
county which includes all or part of a
reservation and any county or counties
which have a common boundary with
the reservation. 42 CFR 136.22(a)(6).
The regulations also provide that after
consultation with the Tribal governing
body or bodies on those reservations
included within the PRCDA, the
Secretary may from time to time,
redesignate areas within the United
States for inclusion in or exclusion from
a PRCDA. 42 CFR 136.22(b). The
regulations require that certain criteria
must be considered before any
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\02APN1.SGM
02APN1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 2, 2024 / Notices
redesignation is made. The criteria are
as follows:
(1) The number of Indians residing in
the area proposed to be so included or
excluded;
(2) Whether the Tribal governing body
has determined that Indians residing in
the area near the reservation are socially
and economically affiliated with the
Tribe;
(3) The geographic proximity to the
reservation of the area whose inclusion
or exclusion is being considered; and
(4) The level of funding which would
be available for the provision of PRC.
Additionally, the regulations require
that any redesignation of a PRCDA must
be made in accordance with the
procedures of the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). 42 CFR
136.22(c). In compliance with this
requirement, the IHS published a
proposed notice of redesignation and
requested public comments on January
19, 2024 (89 FR 3669). The IHS did not
receive any comments in response to the
notice of proposed expansion.
In support of this expansion, the IHS
makes the following findings:
1. By expanding the PRCDA to
include Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield,
Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and
Windham Counties, the Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation’s eligible
population will increase by an
estimated 32 Tribal members and AI/AN
employees.
2. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation has stated that these 32
individuals are socially and
economically affiliated with MPTN.
3. The expanded PRCDA counties
form a contiguous area with the existing
PRCDA. In addition to their AI/AN
employees, MPTN’s members reside in
each of the expansion counties. For
these reasons, the IHS has determined
that the expansion counties are
geographically proximate, meaning ‘‘on
or near’’, to the existing PRCDA.
4. The MPTN will use its existing
Federal allocation for PRC funds to
provide services to the expanded
population. No additional financial
resources will be allocated by the IHS to
MPTN to provide services to its PRCeligible population.
An updated listing of the PRCDAs for
all federally-recognized Tribes may be
accessed via a link on the IHS PRCDA
Expansion website (https://
www.ihs.gov/prc/prcda-expansion).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:06 Apr 01, 2024
Jkt 262001
Public Comments: The IHS did not
receive any comments in response to the
notice of proposed expansion.
Roselyn Tso,
Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–06904 Filed 4–1–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165–16–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Indian Health Service
Notice of Update to the Purchased/
Referred Care Delivery Area for the
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Indian Health Service,
Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
the Indian Health Service (IHS) has
updated the geographic boundaries of
the purchased/referred care delivery
area (PRCDA) for the Mississippi Band
of Choctaw Indians to include the
counties of Carroll and Jackson in the
State of Mississippi and the county of
Lauderdale in the State of Tennessee.
The PRCDA for the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw Indians now comprises the
Mississippi counties of Attala, Carroll,
Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Kemper, Leake,
Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Scott, and
Winston, and the Tennessee county of
Lauderdale. The sole purpose of this
expansion is to authorize additional
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
members and beneficiaries to receive
purchased/referred care (PRC) services.
DATES: This update is effective as of
April 2, 2024.
ADDRESSES: This notice can be found at
https://www.federalregister.gov. Written
requests for information should be
delivered to: CAPT John Rael, Director,
Office of Resource Access and
Partnerships, Indian Health Service,
5600 Fishers Lane, Mail Stop 10E85C,
Rockville, MD 20857, or by phone at
(301) 443–0969 (this is not a toll-free
number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IHS
provides services under regulations in
effect as of September 15, 1987, and
republished at 42 CFR part 136,
subparts A–C. Subpart C defines a
Contract Health Service Delivery Area
(CHSDA), now referred to as a PRCDA,
as the geographic area within which
PRC will be made available by the IHS
to members of an identified Indian
community who reside in the PRCDA.
Residence within a PRCDA by a person
who is within the scope of the Indian
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
22731
health program, as set forth in 42 CFR
136.12, creates no legal entitlement to
PRC but only potential eligibility for
services. Services needed, but not
available at an IHS/Tribal facility, are
provided under the PRC program
depending on the availability of funds,
the relative medical priority of the
services to be provided, and the actual
availability and accessibility of alternate
resources in accordance with the
regulations.
The regulations at 42 CFR part 136,
subpart C provide that, unless otherwise
designated, a PRCDA shall consist of a
county which includes all or part of a
reservation and any county or counties
which have a common boundary with
the reservation. 42 CFR 136.22(a)(6).
Under the Act of June 29, 2000, Public
Law 106–228 at 1(a)(1), ‘‘all land taken
in trust by the United States for the
benefit of the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw Indians on or after December
23, 1944, shall be part of the Mississippi
Choctaw Indian Reservation.’’ (114 Stat.
462). A Federal Register Notice
published by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs on April 3, 2007, further
provides that ‘‘. . . when additional
lands are taken into trust by the United
States for the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw Indians . . . each such
additional land parcel shall
automatically become a part of the
Mississippi Choctaw Indian Reservation
without the need for any other formal
declaration to that effect. . .’’. 72 FR
15899. In 2012 and 2013, parcels of land
in Carroll and Jackson Counties,
Mississippi and Lauderdale County,
Tennessee were taken into trust by the
United States for the benefit of the
MBCI. Once taken into trust, these
parcels automatically became a part of
the MBCI reservation. Accordingly, and
at the request of the MBCI, the IHS is
now updating the MBCI’s PRCDA to
include these three counties.
There are no other counties which
share a common boundary with the new
reservation lands, nor is the MBCI
requesting to include in their PRCDA
any additional counties which do not
hold reservation lands. No existing
PRCDAs overlap with the MBCI’s
updated PRCDA. The MBCI estimates
that updating the Tribe’s PRCDA will
allow an additional 327 individuals,
including tribal members, persons of
Indian descent residing on the
reservation, and other eligible
individuals with close social and
economic ties to the MBCI to become
PRC-eligible. The MBCI further
estimates that a significant portion of
the newly PRC-eligible individuals have
third-party insurance, which will help
E:\FR\FM\02APN1.SGM
02APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22730-22731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06904]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Indian Health Service
Notice of Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area Redesignation for
the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in the State of Connecticut
AGENCY: Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Final notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Indian Health Service (IHS)
has decided to expand the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/
Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA) for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation to include the counties of Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield,
Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and Windham in the State of Connecticut.
The final PRCDA for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation now includes
the Connecticut counties of Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex,
New Haven, New London, Tolland, and Windham. The sole purpose of this
expansion is to authorize additional Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
members and eligible IHS beneficiaries to receive purchased/referred
care (PRC) services.
DATES: This expansion is effective as of the publication date of this
notice.
ADDRESSES: This notice can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov.
Written requests for information should be delivered to: CAPT John
Rael, Director, Office of Resource Access and Partnerships, Indian
Health Service, 5600 Fishers Lane, Mail Stop 10E85C, Rockville, MD
20857, or by phone at (301) 443-0969 (this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IHS provides services under regulations
in effect as of September 15, 1987, and republished at 42 CFR part 136,
subparts A-C. Subpart C defines a Contract Health Service Delivery Area
(CHSDA), now referred to as a PRCDA, as the geographic area within
which PRC will be made available by the IHS to members of an identified
Indian community who reside in the PRCDA. Residence within a PRCDA by a
person who is within the scope of the Indian health program, as set
forth in 42 CFR 136.12, creates no legal entitlement to PRC but only
potential eligibility for services. Services needed, but not available
at an IHS/Tribal facility, are provided under the PRC program depending
on the availability of funds, the relative medical priority of the
services to be provided, and the actual availability and accessibility
of alternate resources in accordance with the regulations.
The regulations at 42 CFR part 136, subpart C provide that, unless
otherwise designated, a PRCDA shall consist of a county which includes
all or part of a reservation and any county or counties which have a
common boundary with the reservation. 42 CFR 136.22(a)(6). The
regulations also provide that after consultation with the Tribal
governing body or bodies on those reservations included within the
PRCDA, the Secretary may from time to time, redesignate areas within
the United States for inclusion in or exclusion from a PRCDA. 42 CFR
136.22(b). The regulations require that certain criteria must be
considered before any
[[Page 22731]]
redesignation is made. The criteria are as follows:
(1) The number of Indians residing in the area proposed to be so
included or excluded;
(2) Whether the Tribal governing body has determined that Indians
residing in the area near the reservation are socially and economically
affiliated with the Tribe;
(3) The geographic proximity to the reservation of the area whose
inclusion or exclusion is being considered; and
(4) The level of funding which would be available for the provision
of PRC.
Additionally, the regulations require that any redesignation of a
PRCDA must be made in accordance with the procedures of the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). 42 CFR 136.22(c). In
compliance with this requirement, the IHS published a proposed notice
of redesignation and requested public comments on January 19, 2024 (89
FR 3669). The IHS did not receive any comments in response to the
notice of proposed expansion.
In support of this expansion, the IHS makes the following findings:
1. By expanding the PRCDA to include Fairfield, Hartford,
Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and Windham Counties, the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's eligible population will increase
by an estimated 32 Tribal members and AI/AN employees.
2. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has stated that these 32
individuals are socially and economically affiliated with MPTN.
3. The expanded PRCDA counties form a contiguous area with the
existing PRCDA. In addition to their AI/AN employees, MPTN's members
reside in each of the expansion counties. For these reasons, the IHS
has determined that the expansion counties are geographically
proximate, meaning ``on or near'', to the existing PRCDA.
4. The MPTN will use its existing Federal allocation for PRC funds
to provide services to the expanded population. No additional financial
resources will be allocated by the IHS to MPTN to provide services to
its PRC-eligible population.
An updated listing of the PRCDAs for all federally-recognized
Tribes may be accessed via a link on the IHS PRCDA Expansion website
(https://www.ihs.gov/prc/prcda-expansion).
Public Comments: The IHS did not receive any comments in response
to the notice of proposed expansion.
Roselyn Tso,
Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-06904 Filed 4-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-16-P