Indian Health Service 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with Section 350(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (72 FR 45054) on August 10, 2007 and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comment was received in response to the notice. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0006, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program.'' Type of Information Collection Request: Previously Approved Collection. Form Number(s): IHS-856, 856-2 through 856-8, IHS-815, IHS-816, IHS-817, IHS-818, D-02, F-02, F-04, G-02, G-04, H-07, H-08, J-04, J-05, K-03, K-04, and L-03. Reporting formats are contained in an IHS Scholarship Program application booklet. Need and Use of Information Collection: This IHS Scholarship Branch needs this information for program administration and uses the information to solicit, process, and award IHS Pre- graduate, Preparatory, and/or Health Professions Scholarship grants and monitor the academic performance of awardees, to place awardees at payback sites. The IHS Scholarship Program plans to streamline the application to reduce the time needed by applicants to complete and provide the information. The IHS Scholarship Program plans to use information technology to make the application electronically available on the internet have been delayed. Affected Public: Individuals, non-for-profit institutes and State, local or Tribal Government. Type of Respondents: Students pursuing health care professions. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Estimated number of respondents, Number of responses per respondent, Annual number of responses, Average burden hour per response, and Total annual burden hour(s).

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which requires 60 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is publishing for comment a summary of a proposed information collection to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0006, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program.'' Type of Information Collection Request: Three-year extension, without change of currently approved information collection, 0917-0006, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program.'' Form Number(s): IHS- 856, 856-2 through 856-8, IHS-815, IHS-816, IHS-817, IHS-818, D-02, F- 02, F-04, G-02, G-04, H-07, H-08, J-04, J-05, K-03, K-04, and L-03. Reporting formats are contained in an IHS Scholarship Program application booklet. Need and Use of Information Collection: The IHS Scholarship Branch needs this information for program administration and uses the information to solicit, process, and award IHS Pre- graduate, Preparatory, and/or Health Professions Scholarship grants and monitor the academic performance of awardees and to place awardees at payback sites. The IHS Scholarship Program is streamlining the application to reduce the time needed by applicants to complete and provide the information. The IHS Scholarship Program plans on using information technology to make the application electronically available on the internet. Affected Public: Individuals, not-for-profit institutions and State, local or tribal government. Type of Respondents: Students pursuing health care professions. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Estimated number of respondents, Number of responses per respondent, Annual number of responses, Average burden hour per response, and Total annual burden hour(s).

The Indian Health Service published a document Federal Register on June 20, 2007, concerning rates for inpatient and outpatient medical care provided by Indian Health Service facilities for Calendar Year 2007 for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries of other Federal Programs. The document contained five incorrect rates.

Notice is given that the Director of Indian Health Service (IHS), under the authority of sections 321(a) and 322(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 248 and 249(b)), Public Law 83-568 (42 U.S.C. 2001(a)), and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), has approved the following rates for inpatient and outpatient medical care provided by IHS facilities for Calendar Year 2007 for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and beneficiaries of other Federal programs. The Medicare Part A inpatient rates are excluded from the table below as they are paid based on the prospective payment system. Since the inpatient rates set forth below do not include all physician services and practitioner services, additional payment may be available to the extent that those services meet applicable requirements. Public Law 106-554, section 432, dated December 21, 2000, authorized IHS facilities to file Medicare Part B claims with the carrier for payment for physician and certain other practitioner services provided on or after July 1, 2001.

The Indian Health Service published a document in the Federal Register on March 28, 2007. The document contained three errors. For further information Contact: Martha Redhouse, Grants Management Branch, Indian Health Service, Reyes Building, 801 Thompson Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852, Telephone (301) 443-5204. (This is not a toll-free number). Correction

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is proposing to modify or alter a SOR, ``Indian Health Service Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs,'' System No. 09-17-0002. We propose to modify the SOR to reflect current program changes, technology changes, statutory and implementation changes. Under the system name, we propose no change to the title but the office acronyms have been changed as a result of an organizational change. We are proposing to change the system location to reflect the current organizational and office location changes. We are proposing to update the categories of individuals covered by the system with minor edits to include Tribal medical/health care and Title V Urban healthcare entity; and to update the categories of records in the system with edits to include additional program requirements ``(e.g. from W-4, direct deposit form for scholarship recipients and loan repayment participants).'' We are proposing to update the Authority for maintenance of the system to correct statutory authorities and to include additional statutory authorities (e.g., Privacy Act, Federal Records Act, and Department Regulations). We are proposing to update the Purposes by categorizing the two programs and modifying/altering by listing the applicable purposes into each of the two programs (Scholarship and Loan Repayment). We are proposing to modify/alter/ delete several published routine uses, as explained, to accommodate program and statutory changes as indicated: Numbers 1 through 3 remain unchanged; number 4 is modified/altered to reflect program language revisions and is renumbered as 5; number 5 is modified to include legal proceedings related to administrative claims and the inclusive provision of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Office of General Counsel (OGC) representation in litigation matters and is renumbered as 4; number 6 is deleted as no longer applicable; number 7 is renumbered as 6 with no changes in the wording; number 8 is renumbered as 7 with no changes in the wording; number 9 is renumbered as 8 with no changes in the wording; number 10 is renumbered as 9 with minor editorial changes; number 11 is renumbered as 10 with minor editorial changes to include the IHCIA acronym citation (i.e., Indian Health Care Improvement Act, as amended); number 12 is renumbered as 11 with no changes in the wording with the exception of the removal of the statement on ``Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies.'' We are proposing to add 7 new routine uses to provide disclosures of records when all requirements are met: number 12, to provide disclosure to consumer reporting agency for commercial credit report and to National Student Clearinghouse using the Loan Location Internet System for verification of applicant's loan data. The statement on ``Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies'' is now incorporated in this new routine use; number 13, to provide disclosure to any Federal agency on delinquent debtors or defaulting participants to effect salary offset, court-ordered administrative offset, and to the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for verification of current mailing address for collection purposes; number 14, to allow disclosure to debt collection agents and those authorized federal or non-federal entities to collect a Federal debt from delinquent debtors or defaulting participants; number 15, to provide disclosure of applicant's information to IRS for verification of any delinquent tax account and to determine credit worthiness; number 16, to provide disclosure of applicant's information to IRS any debt that becomes partly or wholly uncollectible as taxable income; number 17, to allow disclosure to IRS of any IHS debtors or defaulting participants' information for IRS offset on tax refund; number 18, to allow the disclosure of lenders or educational institutions' information to Federal or non-Federal entities authorized to collect Federal debt and for identification of an individual and the nature of the debt. We are proposing to modify/alter the section on storage by including computerized and electronic formats; the section on safeguards for authorized users by redefining the staff functions; the section on physical safeguards to identify specific safeguards for electronic records; and the section on retention and disposal to reflect separate program changes to the IHS Records Schedule for the scholarship program records and to the loan repayment program records. We are proposing to modify/alter the section on the system managers and addresses to reflect the organization and function changes. Under the notification procedures, we are proposing to modify/alter the sections on requests in person and requests by mail to reflect minor edits and a policy change on Social Security numbers; and the section on requests by telephone by revising the wording in a clear and concise program change. In addition, we are proposing two new notification procedures that address requests by facsimile and requests by electronic mail by including a confidentiality statement on facsimile requests and clarification for electronic requests and its security safeguard risks. Under the records source categories section, we are proposing to modify/alter by including the Indian health program human resources department. This system exemption previously listed as ``None'' will remain.