Health Resources and Services Administration July 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, is announcing a decrease in user fees charged to individuals and entities authorized to request information from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The new fee will be $2.00 for both continuous and one-time queries and $4.00 for self- queries. The reduction in NPDB user fees is intended to encourage new users while ensuring sufficient funds to the full cost of NPDB operations and retain appropriate cash reserves. The goals of the cash reserves are to mitigate risks, cover operational costs should revenue decrease, and cover the cost of reasonable enhancement and maintenance of the NPDB management system. HRSA has the standard operating procedure of reviewing NPDB user fees every 2 years. The biennial review of NPDB user fees offers HRSA the opportunity to evaluate its reserves as well as revenue relative to costs. Further, the review provides essential information on whether the fee rates and authorized activities are aligned with actual program costs and activities, and can help promote greater understanding of the fee by NPDB users.

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c) (2) (A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is requesting nominations to fill vacancies on the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). COGME is authorized by Section 762 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 294o), as amended. The Advisory Council is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), as amended, which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees, and applies to the extent that the provisions of FACA do not conflict with the requirements of PHS Act Section 762.

This notice advises the public of the published lists of all geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as primary medical care, mental health, and dental health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) as of May 13, 2016, available on the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Web site at https:// www.hrsa.gov/shortage/. HPSAs are designated or withdrawn by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the authority of section 332 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act and 42 CFR part 5.