Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Notices 24217

record keeping requirements such as

recording: nutrition assessment data,

family partnership development, and

regular volunteer screening for

tuberculosis. These records are intended

to act as a management tool for grantees

to use in their daily operations. Such

records are maintained by the grantees

and are not information items which

must be collected and then forwarded to

the Federal government.

Respondents: Head Start grantee and

delegate agencies.

ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES

Instrument Number of

respondents

Number of responses

per respondent

Average

burden hours

per response

Total burden

hours

Performance Standards .............................................. 2,472 Once a year ................................... 594 1,468,626

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,468,626.

In compliance with the requirements

of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Administration for Children and

Families is soliciting public comment

on the specific aspects of the

information collection described above.

Copies of the proposed collection of

information can be obtained and

comments may be forwarded by writing

to the Administration for Children and

Families, Office of Information Services,

370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW,

Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF

Reports Clearance Officer. All requests

should be identified by the title of the

information collection.

The Department specifically requests

comments on: (a) whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Consideration will be given to

comments and suggestions submitted

within 60 days of this publication.

Dated: April 20, 2000.

Bob Sargis,

Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–10276 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[Document Identifier: HCFA–R–296]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement

of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Health Care Financing Administration

(HCFA), Department of Health and

Human Services, is publishing the

following summary of proposed

collections for public comment. The

proposed collections consist of uniform

mandatory notices to be given to

Medicare home health beneficiaries by

home health agencies (HHAs) when the

HHA believes that services may not or

may no longer be covered. As a result

of comments to the effect that the

notices are poorly designed in that they

are too long, complex, and overcrowded

with symbols, the Home Health

Advance Beneficiary Notices have been

revised. These revisions consist of

simplifications of the graphics, giving

the notices a notably less cluttered look;

reordering of the text and options, and

elimination of some repetition in order

to reduce complexity. As a result of

comments suggesting a fourth option for

billing another insurer and suggesting

removal of the reference to the

beneficiary’s ‘‘need’’ for care in Option

‘‘A,’’ the Home Health Advance

Beneficiary Notices have been revised

by adding clarifying language to Option

‘‘B’’ (now Option ‘‘1’’), emphasizing that

other insurers may be billed, and by

rewording Option ‘‘A’’ (now Option

‘‘2’’), removing the reference to the

‘‘need’’ for care. As a result of a

comment that there was a lack of

information in the notices about legal

assistance for beneficiaries, the Home

Health Advance Beneficiary Notices

have been revised to include

information about legal assistance for

beneficiaries and some other related

access-to-assistance information, as a

new page, and to include a brief notice

about beneficiaries’ right to have their

personal health information kept

confidential. Interested persons are

invited to send comments regarding the

revisions, and burden or any other

aspect of these collections of

information requirements. Comments

may also be sent regarding the following

subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of

the proposed information collection for

the proper performance of the agency’s

functions; (2) the accuracy of the

estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (4) the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology to minimize the information

collection burden.

Type of Information Collection

Request: Revision of a currently

approved collection.

Title of Information Collection: Home

Health Advance Beneficiary Notices

(HHABNs) and Supporting Regulations

in 42 CFR Section 411.404–.406, 484.10,

and 484.12(a).

Form No.: HCFA–R–0296 (OMB#

0938–0781).

Use: Beneficiaries must receive

timely, accurate, complete, and useful

notices which will enable them to make

informed consumer decisions, with a

proper understanding of their rights to

a Medicare initial determination, their

appeal rights in the case of payment

denial, and how these rights are waived

if they refuse to allow their health

information to be sent to Medicare. It is

essential that such notice be timely,

readable and comprehensible, provide

clear directions, and provide accurate

and complete information about the

services affected and the reason that

Medicare denial of payment for those

services is expected by the HHA. For

these reasons, uniform mandatory

notices (the HHABNs) with very specific

content and graphic design have been

prepared, which are to be used by all

24218 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Notices

HHAs furnishing services to Medicare

beneficiaries.

When an HHA expects payment for

the home health services to be denied

by Medicare, a beneficiary must be

advised before home health care is

initiated or continued that, in the HHA’s

opinion, payment probably will be

required from him or her personally or

through other insurance. The HHABNs

are designed to ensure that HHAs

inform beneficiaries in writing, in a

timely fashion, about changes to their

home health care, the fact that they may

have to pay for care themselves if

Medicare does not pay, the process they

must follow in order to obtain an initial

determination by Medicare and, if

payment is denied, to file an appeal,

and the fact that they waive those rights

if they refuse to allow their health

information to be sent to Medicare. The

HHABNs are to be issued by the HHA

each time, and as soon as, the HHA

makes the assessment that it believes

Medicare payment will not be made.

The HHABNs are to be provided by

HHAs in any case where a reduction or

termination of services is to occur, or

where services are to be denied before

being initiated, except in any case in

which a physician concurs in the

reduction, termination, or denial of

services. Failure to do so would be a

violation of the HHA Conditions of

Participation in the Medicare Program,

which are currently approved PRA

requirements approved under OMB

number 0938–0365, and may result in

the HHA being held liable under the

Limitation on Liability (LOL) provision.

Home Health Advance Beneficiary

Notices (HHABNs)

HHABNs serve as notice to the

beneficiary that the HHA believes that

home health services are not, or will no

longer be, covered in different

situations. HHABN–T, Termination, is

used when all home health services will

be terminated. HHABN–I, Initiation, is

used when the HHA expects, even

before services have been initiated, that

Medicare will not pay. HHABN–R,

Reduction, is used when ongoing home

health services will be reduced (e.g.,

reduced in number, frequency, or for a

particular subset of services, or

otherwise).

Frequency: On occasion.

Affected Public: Individuals or

Households, Business or other for-profit,

Not-for-profit institutions.

Number of Respondents: 540,000.

Total Annual Responses: 1,080,000.

Total Annual Hours: 180,000.

To obtain copies of the supporting

statement for the proposed paperwork

collections referenced above, access

HCFA’s Web Site Address at http://

www.hcfa.gov/regs/prdact95.htm, or Email your request, including your

address and phone number, to

Paperwork@hcfa.gov, or call the Reports

Clearance Office on (410) 786–1326.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collections must be mailed

within 30 days of this notice directly to

the OMB Desk Officer designated at the

following address: OMB Human

Resources and Housing Branch,

Attention: Allison Eydt, New Executive

Office Building, Room 10235,

Washington, D.C. 20503.

Dated: April 10, 2000.

John P. Burke III,

HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA,

Office of Information Services, Security and

Standards Group, Division of HCFA

Enterprise Standards.

[FR Doc. 00–10268 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–03–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4563–N–04]

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection for Indian Housing Drug

Elimination Program; Notice of

Funding Availability

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection requirement described below

will be submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

review, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act. The Department is

soliciting public comments on the

subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: June 26,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit comments regarding

this proposal. Comments should refer to

the proposal by name and/or OMB

Control number and should be sent to:

Mildred M. Hamman, Reports Liaison

Officer, Public and Indian Housing,

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 451 7th Street, SW.,

Room 4238, Washington, DC 20410–

5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mildred M. Hamman, (202) 708–3642,

extension 4128, for copies of the

proposed forms and other available

documents. (This is not a toll-free

number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department will submit the proposed

information collection to OMB for

review, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

chapter 35, as amended).

This Notice is soliciting comments

from members of the public and affected

agencies concerning the proposed

collection of information to: (1) Evaluate

whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(2) evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s

estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information; (3) enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (4)

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on those who are to

respond, including through the use of

appropriate automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; e.g., permitting electronic

submission of responses.

This Notice also lists the following

information:

Title of Proposal: Indian Housing

Drug Elimination Program Notice of

Funding Availability.

OMB Control Number: 2577–xxxx.

Description of the need for the

information and proposed use: The

Indian Housing Drug Elimination

Program requires eligible tribes and

Native American Housing Assistance

and Self Determination Act

(NAHASDA) recipients (which includes

both tribes and tribally designated

housing entities (TDHEs) to submit

specific information that is necessary if

they want to implement security and

substance abuse prevention programs in

their communities. HUD will select

applicants who successfully respond to

the five rating factors listed in the

NOFA for this competitive funding

program.

Agency form numbers, if applicable:

None.

Members of affected public: State or

Local Government (Indian Tribes and

Alaska Native Villages).

Estimation of the total number of

hours needed to prepare the information

collection including number of

respondents, frequency of response, and

hours of response: 40 average hours per

response, approximately 144

respondents on an annual basis, 5,760

hours for a total reporting burden.

Status of the proposed information

collection: New.