Personnel Management Office October 17, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has completed its annual determination of the States that qualify as Medically Underserved Areas under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program for calendar year 2007. This is necessary to comply with a provision of the FEHB law that mandates special consideration for enrollees of certain FEHB plans who receive covered health services in States with critical shortages of primary care physicians. Accordingly, for calendar year 2007, OPM's calculations show that the following states are Medically Underserved Areas under the FEHB Program: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. For the 2007 calendar year Texas is being added and Alaska is being removed from the list.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review of a revised information collection. SF 3106, Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions/Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), is used by former Federal employees under FERS, to apply for a refund of retirement deductions withheld during Federal employment, plus any interest provided by law. SF 3106A, Current/Former Spouse(s) Notification of Application for Refund of Retirement Deductions Under FERS, is used by refund applicants to notify their current/former spouse(s) that they are applying for a refund of retirement deductions, which is required by law. Comments are particularly invited on: whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Approximately 17,000 SF 3106 forms will be processed annually. The SF 3106 takes approximately 30 minutes to complete for a total of 8,500 hours annually. Approximately 13,600 of SF 3106A forms will be processed annually. The SF 3106A takes approximately 5 minutes to complete for a total of 1,133 hours. The total annual burden is 9,633 hours. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606-8358, FAX (202) 418-3251 or via E-mail to MaryBeth.[fxsp0]Smith-Toomey@opm.gov. Please include a mailing address with your request.