Indian Health Service – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Indian Health Service (IHS) has entered into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to assist in the development of a five-year strategic plan. Funding for this project was provided by Congress in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which directs IHS to develop the plan in consultation with urban Indians and the Academy. As part of this project, the Academy project team is in the process of conducting extensive outreach to IHS/Office of Urban Indian Health Programs (OUIHP) leadership and employees, as well as conferring with urban Indian organizations and other key external stakeholder groups. The final product will be a strategic plan to guide the work of the headquarters office of OUIHP, area urban coordinators, and urban Indian organizations participating in IHS programs. The strategic plan will be completed by the end of December 2016. IHS is requesting input on the strategic planning process, the strengths and weaknesses of OUIHP, and the opportunities and threats facing the program. Comments will be used to help develop the mission, goals, objectives, and strategies to be included in the strategic plan.

In compliance with section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for an extension for this collection, titled, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program (OMB Control Number 0917- 0006),'' with an expiration date of September 30, 2016. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (81 FR 44030) on July 6, 2016, and allowed 60 days for public comment, as required by 3506(c)(2)(A). The IHS received no comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' OMB Control No. 0917-0006. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of the currently approved information collection ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' OMB Control No. 0917-0006. Form Number(s): IHS- 856-3, IHS-856-5 through 856-19, IHS-856-21 through 856-24, IHS-817, and IHS-818 are retained for use by the IHS Scholarship Program (IHSSP) as part of this current information collection request. Reporting forms are found on the IHS Web site at www.ihs.gov/scholarship. 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 recipients; monitor the academic performance of recipients; and to place recipients at payback sites. The IHSSP application is electronically available on the internet at the IHS Web site at: https://www.ihs.gov/scholarship/applynow/. Affected Public: Individuals, not-for-profit institutions and State, local or Tribal Governments. 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 hours.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which requires 30 days for public comment on proposed information collection projects, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for an extension of a previously approved collection of information titled, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files,'' OMB Control Number 0917-0009, which expires August 31, 2016. This proposed information collection project was previously published in the Federal Register (81 FR 23318) on April 20, 2016, and allowed 60 days for public comment. The IHS received no public comments regarding this collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment to be submitted directly to OMB. Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Type of Information Collection Request: Extension, without revision, of currently approved information collection, 0917-0009, ``Indian Health Service Medical Staff Credentials and Privileges Files.'' Form Numbers: 0917-0009. Need and Use of Information Collection: This collection of information is used to evaluate individual health care providers applying for medical staff privileges at IHS health care facilities. The IHS operates health care facilities that provide health care services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. To provide these services, the IHS employs (directly and under contract) several categories of health care providers including: Physicians (M.D. and D.O.), dentists, psychologists, optometrists, podiatrists, audiologists, physician assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives. IHS policy specifically requires physicians and dentists to be members of the health care facility medical staff where they practice. Health care providers become medical staff members, depending on the local health care facility's capabilities and medical staff bylaws. There are three types of IHS medical staff applicants: (1) Health care providers applying for direct employment with IHS; (2) contractors who will not seek to become IHS employees; and (3) employed IHS health care providers who seek to transfer between IHS health care facilities. National health care standards developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission, and other accrediting organizations require health care facilities to review, evaluate and verify the credentials, training and experience of medical staff applicants prior to granting medical staff privileges. In order to meet these standards, IHS health care facilities require all medical staff applicants to provide information concerning their education, training, licensure, and work experience and any adverse disciplinary actions taken against them. This information is then verified with references supplied by the applicant and may include: Former employers, educational institutions, licensure and certification boards, the American Medical Association, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the National Practitioner Data Bank, and the applicants themselves. In addition to the initial granting of medical staff membership and clinical privileges, the Joint Commission standards require that a review of the medical staff be conducted not less than every two years. This review evaluates the current competence of the medical staff and verifies whether they are maintaining the licensure or certification requirements of their specialty. The medical staff credentials and privileges records are maintained at the health care facility where the health care provider is a medical staff member. The establishment of these records at IHS health care facilities is a Joint Commission requirement. Prior to the establishment of this Joint Commission requirement, the degree to which medical staff applications were maintained at all health care facilities in the United States that are verified for completeness and accuracy varied greatly across the Nation. The application process has been streamlined and is using information technology to make the application electronically available on the Internet. The application may be found at the IHS.gov Web site address: https://www.ihs.gov/IHM/ index.cfm?module=dsp_ihm_pc_p3c1_ex#ManualExhibit3-1-A. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of Respondents: Individuals. The table below provides: Types of data collection instruments, Estimated number of respondents, Number of annual number of responses, Average burden per response, and Total annual burden hours.

In compliance the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Indian Health Service (IHS) invites the general public to comment on the information collection titled, ``Application for Participation in the IHS Scholarship Program,'' Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 0917-0006. IHS is requesting OMB to approve an extension for this collection, which expires on September 30, 2016.

This document extends due dates in the Fiscal Year 2016 Tribal Management Grant Program funding announcement that was published in the Federal Register (81 FR 20396) on April 7, 2016. Several key dates have been extended.

Notice is hereby given that the Indian Health Service will conduct a 90 day tribal consultation and urban confer regarding the State of the Great Plains Area IHS. The IHS will conduct two telephone tribal consultation and urban confer sessions on June 22, 2016 and August 10, 2016. The IHS will also conduct two on-site tribal consultation and urban confer sessions on July 13, 2016 in Aberdeen, South Dakota and on August 30, 2016 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Indian Health Service published a document in the Federal Register on April 7, 2016, for the FY 2016 Tribal Management Grant Program. The notice contained the incorrect Fiscal Year regarding funding availability.

The Indian Health Service published a document in the Federal Register on March 28, 2016, for the FY 2016 American Indians into Nursing. The notice contained incorrect project period lengths.

In compliance the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Indian Health Service (IHS) invites the general public to comment on the information collection titled, ``Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Contracts,'' Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0917-0037. IHS is requesting OMB to approve an extension for this collection, which expires on July 31, 2016.

This final notice advises the public that the Indian Health Service (IHS) has decided to expand the geographic boundaries of the Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) service delivery area for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of Massachusetts pursuant to 42 CFR 136.22. The Aquinnah service delivery area previously covered Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County in the State of Massachusetts. The expanded service delivery area includes counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Dukes Counties in the State of Massachusetts. The sole purpose of this expansion is to authorize Aquinnah to cover additional tribal members and beneficiaries under Aquinnah's PRC program using the existing Federal allocation for PRC funds.

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hereby issues this final rule with comment period to implement a methodology and payment rates for the Indian Health Service (IHS) Purchased/Referred Care (PRC), formerly known as the Contract Health Services (CHS), to apply Medicare payment methodologies to all physician and other health care professional services and non-hospital- based services. Specifically, it will allow the health programs operated by IHS, Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations (collectively, I/T/U programs) to negotiate or pay non-I/ T/U providers based on the applicable Medicare fee schedule, prospective payment system, Medicare Rate, or in the event of a Medicare waiver, the payment amount will be calculated in accordance with such waiver; the amount negotiated by a repricing agent, if applicable; or the provider or supplier's most favored customer (MFC) rate. This final rule will establish payment rates that are consistent across Federal health care programs, align payment with inpatient services, and enable the I/T/U to expand beneficiary access to medical care. A comment period is included, in part, to address Tribal stakeholder concerns about the opportunity for meaningful consultation on the rule's impact on Tribal health programs.

This document extends the comment period for the Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund (CHEF) notice of proposed rulemaking which was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2016. The comment period for the notice, which would have ended on March 11, 2016, is extended by 60 days.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) administers the Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund, The purpose of CHEF is to meet the extraordinary medical costs associated with the treatment of victims of disasters or catastrophic illnesses who are within the responsibility of the Service. This proposed rule: Proposes definitions governing the CHEF; establishes that a Service Unit shall not be eligible for reimbursement for the cost of treatment until the episode of care's cost has reached a certain threshold; establishes a procedure for reimbursement for certain services exceeding a threshold cost; establishes a procedure for payment for certain cases; and, establishes a procedure to ensure payment will not be made from CHEF if other sources of payment (Federal, state, local, private) are available.

The Indian Health Service published a 30 day Federal Register notice in the Federal Register (FR) on November 17, 2015 (80 FR 71813) to solicit comments from the general public on the information collection titled, ``Indian Health Service (IHS) Sharing What Works Best Practice, Promising Practice, and Local Effort (BPPPLE) Form,'' Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0917-0034. The notice was submitted before the 60 day FR notice comment period for the same information collection ends on December 8, 2015. Therefore, the correct date for the deadline to submit comments regarding the 30 day FR notice is January 9, 2016.

This document extends the comment period for the notice to propose Redesignation of the Service Delivery Area for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), which was published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2015. The comment period for the notice, which would have ended on October 23, 2015, is extended by 30 days.

This document extends the comment period for the notice to propose Redesignation of the Service Delivery Area for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Indian Tribe, which was published in the Federal Register on August 24, 2015. The comment period for the notice, which would have ended on September 23, 2015, is extended by 30 days.