Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 108 / Monday, June 5, 2000 / Notices 35655

NATIONAL TRAINING DATES: The Physician

National Training session is scheduled

for June 19, 2000 from 9 a.m. until 4

p.m., Eastern Time. The Hospital

Outpatient National Training session is

scheduled for September 15, 2000 from

9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Eastern Time.

NATIONAL ADDRESSES: The National

meetings on June 19, 2000 and

September 15, 2000 will be held in the

HCFA Auditorium, 7500 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland, 21244–

1850.

REGIONAL TRAINING DATES AND CITIES: The

Physician Regional Training sessions

will be held as follows:

Physician Encounter Data Training Schedule

2000

Date and Location

June 29–30, 2000:

BOSTON, MA—Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39

Dalton Street, Boston, MA 02199, (617)

236–2000

July 6–7, 2000:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Hotel Nikko, 222

Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102,

(415) 394–1111

July 11–12, 2000:

CHICAGO, IL—The Drake Hotel, 140 East

Walton Place, Chicago, IL 60611, (312)

787–2200

July 17–18, 2000:

ATLANTA, GA—Hyatt Regency, 265

Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303,

(404) 577–1234

The Hospital Outpatient Regional

Training sessions will be held as

follows:

Hospital Outpatient Encounter Data Training

Schedule 2000

Date and Location

September 18–19, 2000:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—San Francisco

Airport, Marriott 1800 Old Bayshore

Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010, (650)

692–9100

September 21–22, 2000:

ATLANTA, GA—Wyndham Atlanta, 160

Spring Street, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404)

688–8600

October 16–17, 2000:

CHICAGO, IL—Westin O’Hare, 6100 River

Road, Rosemont, IL 60018, (847) 698–

6000

October 19–20, 2000:

BOSTON, MA—Boston Park Plaza Hotel,

64 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116,

(617) 426–2000

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Encounter Data Representative at (301)

519–6700 or e-mail us with your

questions at

encounterdata@aspensys.com. Please

refer to the HCFA Advisory Committees

Information Lines 1(877) 449–5659 toll

free or (410) 786–9379 local or via the

Internet at hhtp:www.hcfa.gov/fac for

additional information and updates on

committee activities.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997

(BBA) (Public Law 105–33) established

the Medicare+Choice program. Under

the BBA, we must implement a risk

adjustment methodology that accounts

for variations in per capita costs based

on health status and other demographic

factors for payment to Medicare+Choice

organizations (M+COs). Risk adjustment

implementation began January 1, 2000.

The BBA also gives us the authority

to collect inpatient hospital data for

discharges on or after July 1, 1997, and

additional data for services occurring on

or after July 1, 1998. Pending OMB

approval, M+COs must submit

physician and hospital outpatient

encounter data on the following

schedule:

• October 1, 2000: Submission of

physician encounters begins.

• January 1, 2001: Submission of

hospital outpatient encounters begin

with dates of services retroactive to

October 1, 2000.

This notice announces these training

sessions to provide an opportunity for

M+COs, providers, practitioners, and

others to obtain information on the

requirements for the collection of

physician and hospital outpatient

encounter data. These training sessions

will also provide additional information

on our data collection efforts, systems

processes, training approach, and

customer service support. Subsequent to

these sessions we will implement user

groups to facilitate ongoing discussions

and training support. We are

announcing these training sessions to

provide physician and hospital

outpatient data requirements and to

allow individuals and organizations

familiar with issues related to physician

and hospital outpatient data collection

to raise questions that can be answered

in these and subsequent training

sessions. The agenda for each session

will include presentations by Aspen

Systems Corporation, the encounter data

training contractor, on related topics

and will conclude with a question-andanswer period.

Registration

Registration for these training sessions

is required and will be on a first-come,

first-served basis, limited to two

attendees per organization. A waiting

list will be available for additional

requests. Registration can be

accomplished via the Internet at

www.hcfa.gov/events or by completing

a paper form available at the

aforementioned Internet address. A

confirmation notice will be sent to

attendees upon finalization of

registration.

Attendees will be provided with

training materials at the time of the

training session. We will accept written

questions or requests for training

materials either before the session or up

to 14 days after the session. These

written questions or requests must be

sent to: Aspen Systems Corporation,

ATTN: Wanda Keyes, Mail Stop 9Y,

2277 Research Boulevard, Rockville,

Maryland 20850.

You may also contact Encounter Data

Representative: Telephone Number:

(301) 519–6700, Fax Number: (301) 519–

6360, E-mail:

encounterdata@aspensys.com.

(Authority: Sections 1851 through 1859 of

the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–21

through 1395w–28))

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.773 Medicare—Hospital

Insurance Program; and No. 93.774,

Medicare—Supplementary Medical

Insurance Program)

Dated: May 31, 2000.

Nancy-Ann Min DeParle,

Administrator, Health Care Financing

Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–14091 Filed 6–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Availability of Additional HRSA

Competitive Grants

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Health Resources and

Services Administration (HRSA)

announces the availability of funds for

several HRSA programs. This Notice

lists several programs that are

announcing competitions for fiscal year

(FY) 2000 funds but were not published

in the Fall 1999 HRSA Preview.

This Notice includes funding for

HRSA discretionary authorities and

programs as follows: (1) National Oral

Health Policy Center (MCHB); and (2)

Partnership for State Oral Health

Leadership Cooperative Agreement

(MCHB).

These programs were not published in

the Fall 1999 HRSA Preview and will

only appear in the Federal Register and

on the HRSA Home Page at: http://

www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/. The next edition of

the HRSA Preview is planned to be

published in mid-2000. The purpose of

the HRSA Preview is to provide the

general public with a single source of

35656 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 108 / Monday, June 5, 2000 / Notices

program and application information

related to the Agency’s competitive

grant offerings. The HRSA Preview is

designed to replace multiple Federal

Register notices which traditionally

advertised the availability of HRSA’s

discretionary funds for its various

programs.

Dated: May 30, 2000.

Claude Earl Fox,

Administrator.

How To Obtain Further Information

You can download this Notice in

Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) from

HRSA’s web site at http://

www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/.

To Obtain an Application Kit

It is recommended that you read the

introductory materials, terminology

section, and individual program

category descriptions to fully assess

your eligibility for grants before

requesting kits. As a general rule, no

more than one kit per category will be

mailed to applicants. Upon review of

the program descriptions, please

determine which category or categories

of application kit(s) you wish to receive

and call 1–877–477–2123 to register on

the specific mailing list. Application

kits are generally available 60 days prior

to application deadline. If kits are

already available, they will be mailed

immediately.

Also, you can register on-line to be

sent specific grant application materials

by following the instructions on the web

page or accessing http://www.hrsa.gov/

g-order3.htm directly. Your mailing

information will be added to our

database and material will be sent to

you as it becomes available.

Grant Terminology

Application Deadlines

Applications will be considered ‘‘on

time’’ if they are either received on or

before the established deadline date or

postmarked on or before the deadline

date given in the program

announcement or in the application

materials.

Authorizations

The citations of provisions of the laws

authorizing the various programs are

provided immediately preceding

groupings of program categories.

CFDA Number

Applicants must use the CFDA

number when requesting application

materials. The Catalog of Federal

Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is a

Governmentwide compendium of

Federal programs, projects, services, and

activities which provide assistance.

Programs listed therein are given a

CFDA Number.

Cooperative Agreement

A financial assistance mechanism

(grant) used when substantial Federal

programmatic involvement with the

recipient during performance is

anticipated by the Agency.

Eligibility

Authorizing legislation and

programmatic regulations specify

eligibility for individual grant programs.

In general, assistance is provided to

nonprofit organizations and institutions,

State and local governments and their

agencies, and occasionally to

individuals. For-profit organizations are

eligible to receive awards under

financial assistance programs unless

specifically excluded by legislation.

Estimated Amount of Competition

The funding level listed is provided

for planning purposes and is subject to

the availability of funds or

congressional action.

Funding Priorities and/or Preferences

Special priorities or preferences are

those which the individual programs

have identified for the funding cycle.

Some programs give preference to

organizations which have specific

capabilities such as telemedicine

networking or established relationships

with managed care organizations.

Preference also may be given to achieve

an equitable geographic distribution and

other reasons to increase the

effectiveness of the programs.

Key Offices

The Grants Management Office serves

as the focal point for grants policy,

budgetary, and business matters. The

program office contact is provided for

questions specific to the project

activities of the programs and program

objectives.

Matching Requirements

Several HRSA programs require a

matching amount, or percentage of the

total project support, to come from

sources other than Federal funds.

Matching requirements are generally

mandated in the authorizing legislation

for specific categories. Also, matching

requirements may be administratively

required by the awarding office. Such

requirements are set forth in the

application kit.

Project Period/Budget Period

The project period is the total time for

which support of a discretionary project

has been programmatically approved.

The project period consists of one or

more budget periods, each generally of

one year duration. Continuation of any

project from one budget period to the

next is subject to satisfactory

performance, availability of funds, and

program priorities.

Review Criteria

The following are generic review

criteria applicable to HRSA programs:

(1) That the estimated cost to the

Government of the project is reasonable

considering the anticipated results.

(2) That project personnel or

prospective fellows are well qualified by

training and/or experience for the

support sought, and the applicant

organization or the organization to

provide training to a fellow has

adequate facilities and manpower.

(3) That, insofar as practical, the

proposed activities (scientific or other),

if well executed, are capable of attaining

project objectives.

(4) That the project objectives are

capable of achieving the specific

program objectives defined in the

program announcement and the

proposed results are measurable.

(5) That the method for evaluating

proposed results includes criteria for

determining the extent to which the

program has achieved its stated

objectives and the extent to which the

accomplishment of objectives can be

attributed to the program.

(6) That, in so far as practical, the

proposed activities, when

accomplished, are replicable, national

in scope and include plans for broad

dissemination.

The specific review criteria used to

review and rank applications are

included in the individual guidance

material provided with the application

kits. Applicants should pay strict

attention to addressing these criteria as

they are the basis upon which their

applications will be judged.

Technical Assistance

Some programs may have scheduled

workshops and conference calls. If you

have questions concerning individual

programs or the availability of technical

assistance, please contact the person

listed. Also check your application

materials and the HRSA web site at

http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/ for the latest

technical assistance information.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. HRSA lists many telephone numbers

and e-mail addresses. Whom do I

phone or e-mail and when?

Phone 1–877–477–2123 (1–877–

HRSA–123) to register for application

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 108 / Monday, June 5, 2000 / Notices 35657

kits. You must know the program’s

CFDA number and title.

If, before you register, you want to

know more about the program, an email/phone contact is listed. This

contact can provide information

concerning the specific program’s

purpose, scope and goals, and eligibility

criteria. You will usually be encouraged

to request the application kit so that you

will have clear, comprehensive and

accurate information available to you.

The application kit lists telephone

numbers for a program expert and a

grants management specialist who will

provide technical assistance concerning

your specific program, if you are unable

to find the information within the

materials provided.

2. The dates listed in the Federal

Register notice and the dates in the

application kit do not agree. How do

I know which is correct?

First, register at 1–877–477–2123 (1–

877–HRSA–123) for each program that

you are interested in as shown in the

Notice.

Notice dates for application kit

availability and application receipt

deadline are based upon the best known

information at the time of publication.

Occasionally, the grant cycle does not

begin as projected and dates must be

adjusted. The deadline date stated in

your application kit is most likely to be

correct. If the application kit has been

made available and subsequently the

date changes, notification of the change

will be mailed to known recipients of

the application kit. Therefore, if you are

registered at 1–877–477–2123 (1–877–

HRSA–123), you will receive the most

current information.

3. Are programs announced in the

Federal Register notice ever

canceled?

Infrequently, programs announced

may be withdrawn from competition. If

this occurs, a cancellation notice will be

provided at the HRSA Homepage at

http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/.

If you still have unanswered

questions, please contact John

Gallicchio or Jeanne Conley of the

HRSA Grants Policy Branch at 301–443–

6507 (jgallicchio@hrsa.gov or

jconley@hrsa.gov). Maternal and Child

Health Bureau (MCHB) Grants

Management Office: 301–443–1440.

The MCHB announces the following

two grant programs:

1. National Oral Health Policy Center

(MCHB)

Authorization: Social Security Act,

Title V, 42 U.S.C. 701

Purpose:

The purpose of this Policy Center is

to explore critical health policy issues

around access to comprehensive oral

health services for children and their

families. A special emphasis on policy

issues as they pertain to underserved,

vulnerable populations (i.e. Medicaid

and SCHIP eligible populations,

children with special health care needs,

minority populations) and the oral

health care delivery system as a

component of the overall health care

infrastructure is required.

Eligibility: 42 CFR 51a.3.

Funding Priorities and/or Preferences:

None.

Review Criteria:

Final criteria are included in the

application kit.

Estimated Amount of This

Competition: $125,000/year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Estimated Project Period: Three years,

from 9/30/00 through 4/30/03.

Application Available: 6/15/00.

To Obtain This Application Kit:

CFDA Number: 93.110AD.

Call for Application Kit: 1–877–477–

2123 (1–877–HRSA–123).

Application Deadline: 8/18/00.

Projected Award Date: 9/30/00.

The first budget period is expected to

be 7 months; subsequent budget periods

will be 12 months.

Contact Person: John P. Rossetti 301

443–6600 e-mail: jrossetti@hrsa.gov.

2. Partnership for State Oral Health

Leadership Cooperative Agreement

(MCHB)

Authorization: Social Security Act,

Title V, 42 U.S.C. 701.

Purpose:

The purpose of this program is to

fund a cooperative agreement with a

professional organization representing

the oral public health community at the

State level. The agreement will provide

a forum for the gathering of information

and data and the provision of technical

expertise to the dental public health

community that increases access to the

prevention of oral disease and access to

dental services. This will be

accomplished by appropriate needs

assessment, program planning,

assurance and systems development.

Eligibility: 42 CFR 51a.3.

Funding Priorities and/or Preferences:

A funding preference will be given to

institutions of higher learning with

extensive experience in early discharge

research, linkage with the Secretary’s

Advisory Committee on Infant

Mortality, and published research and

recognition in the relevant field.

Review Criteria:

Final criteria are included in the

application kit.

Estimated Amount of This

Competition: $130,000/year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Estimated Project Period: Five years,

from 9/30/00 through 7/31/05.

Application Available: 6/15/00.

To Obtain This Application Kit:

CFDA Number: 93.110AD.

Call for Application Kit: 1–877–477–

2123 (1–877–HRSA–123).

Application Deadline: 8/18/00.

Projected Award Date: 9/30/00.

The first budget period is expected to

be 10 months; subsequent budget

periods will be 12 months.

Contact Person: John P. Rossetti 301/

443–6600 e-mail: jrossetti@hrsa.gov.

[FR Doc. 00–13951 Filed 6–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

Meeting of Advisory Committee to the

Interagency Task Force To Improve

Hydroelectric Licensing Processes

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, this

notice advises interested persons that

the Advisory Committee to the

Interagency Task Force To Improve

Hydroelectric Licensing Processes will

meet on June 8, 2000, at the National

Marine Fisheries Service. The purpose

of the meeting is to:

• Update Committee members on the

current activities of the Interagency

Task Force (ITF); and to

• Review and discuss the ITF

Working Group’s draft product on

improving the conservation of the

Endangered Species Act Section 7

consultation with the Federal Energy

and Regulatory Commission’s licensing

process.

DATES: The meeting will be held June 8,

2000; 9:00am–3pm.

ADDRESSES: National Marine Fisheries

Service, Building SSMC3, 4th Floor

Conference Room, 4527, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kimberly St. Bernard, Secretary to the

Director, Office of Habitat Conservation

(OHC), (301) 713–2325.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Secretary of the Interior and the

Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, with the concurrence of

ITF members, established the Advisory

Committee to provide a forum for nonFederal entities to review and provide

comments on the deliberations of the

ITF. Interested parties are invited to