Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 174 / Friday, September 8, 2006 / Notices 53095 

Budget. Strategic Plan and Annual 

Performance Budget. Proposed Bank 

Examination Rating System. Final Rule: 

Affordable Housing Program 

Amendments. 

Matter to be Considered at the Closed 

Portion: Periodic Update of Examination 

Program Development and Supervisory 

Findings. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Shelia Willis, Paralegal Specialist, 

Office of General Counsel, at 202–408–

2876 or williss@fhfb.gov. 

Dated: September 6, 2006. 

By the Federal Housing Finance Board. 

John P. Kennedy, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 06–7581 Filed 9–06–06; 2:54 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6725–01–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and 

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies 

The companies listed in this notice 

have applied to the Board for approval, 

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company 

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) 

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part 

225), and all other applicable statutes 

and regulations to become a bank 

holding company and/or to acquire the 

assets or the ownership of, control of, or 

the power to vote shares of a bank or 

bank holding company and all of the 

banks and nonbanking companies 

owned by the bank holding company, 

including the companies listed below. 

The applications listed below, as well 

as other related filings required by the 

Board, are available for immediate 

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 

indicated. The application also will be 

available for inspection at the offices of 

the Board of Governors. Interested 

persons may express their views in 

writing on the standards enumerated in 

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the 

proposal also involves the acquisition of 

a nonbanking company, the review also 

includes whether the acquisition of the 

nonbanking company complies with the 

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act 

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise 

noted, nonbanking activities will be 

conducted throughout the United States. 

Additional information on all bank 

holding companies may be obtained 

from the National Information Center 

website at www.ffiec.gov/nic/. 

Unless otherwise noted, comments 

regarding each of these applications 

must be received at the Reserve Bank 

indicated or the offices of the Board of 

Governors not later than October 5, 

2006. 

A. Federal Reserve Bank of 

Minneapolis (Jacqueline G. King, 

Community Affairs Officer) 90 

Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota 55480-0291: 

1. Minnwest Corporation, 

Minnetonka, Minnesota; to acquire 100 

percent of the voting shares of 

Aumanchester, Inc., Rochester, 

Minnesota, and thereby indirectly 

acquire Rochester Bank, Rochester, 

Minnesota. 

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas 

City (Donna J. Ward, Assistant Vice 

President) 925 Grand Avenue, Kansas 

City, Missouri 64198-0001: 

1. Columbine Capital Corp., Buena 

Vista, Colorado; to become a bank 

holding company by acquiring 100 

percent of the voting shares of Collegiate 

Peaks Bank, Buena Vista, Colorado. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, September 5, 2006. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. E6–14889 Filed 9–7–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Public Meeting on Patient and 

Physician Concerns in Access to 

Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 

(HHS/ASPE). 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

date and location of a Town Hall 

meeting to be held on September 28, 

2006 to obtain public comment on 

patient and physician concerns with 

access to IVIG. The Department of 

Health and Human Services, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 

Evaluation has contracted with Eastern 

Research Group, Inc. (ERG) to develop 

an analysis of supply, distribution, 

demand, and access issues associate 

with IVIG. This public meeting provides 

a forum for interested parties to make 

oral comments and to submit written 

comments about IVIG access for use in 

the analysis. In particular, comments are 

invited that will aid in the analysis of 

any physician or patient problems with 

access to IVIG, including the nature, 

size, and scope of any problems, as well 

as estimation of changes in health 

outcomes that may result from access 

problems. 

DATES: The Town Hall meeting will be 

held on September 28, 2006 from 10 

a.m. to 5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 

1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, 

Arlington, VA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amber Jessup. Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 

200 Independence Ave., SW., 

Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: 

202–690–6621. 

Web site: Additional details regarding 

the Town Hall meeting process for 

public comments, along with 

information on how to register and 

guidelines for an effective presentation 

and/or electronic comment submission, 

can be found on the project Web site at 

https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/ 

conferences/hhs. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Department of Health and Human 

Services, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 

has contracted with Eastern Research 

Group, Inc. (ERG) to develop an analysis 

of supply, distribution, demand, and 

access issues associated with IVIG. As 

part of this analysis, a Town Hall 

meeting is being scheduled to obtain 

public comment on access issues to be 

used in the analysis. 

Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) 

is a plasma product that is used to treat 

patients with immune system disorders. 

Immune globulins are antibodies. IVIG 

has a number of on-label uses including 

treatment of humoral 

immunodeficiency, acute and chronic 

idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, B 

cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (to 

prevent recurrent bacterial infections), 

Kawasaki disease, pediatric HIV, and 

bone marrow transplantation. It is also 

used for off-label treatments including 

autoimmune, neurological, and systemic 

inflammatory conditions. According to 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services Advisory Committee on Blood 

Safety and Availability, more than half 

of IVIG use may be for off-label 

indications. Due at least in part to the 

increase in off-label uses, demand for 

IVIG has increased in recent years. The 

number of infusion days in hospitals 

increased to 70,000 days in 2004 from 

40,000 days in 2002 and the number of 

grams infused in physician offices 

increased by 1.7 million grams, between 

2003 and 2004, from 2.3 to 4.0 million 

grams. 

IVIG is covered under Medicare Part 

B. In 2005, Medicare shifted from 

Average Wholesale Price (AWP) as the 

basis for reimbursement to Average 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
53096 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 174 / Friday, September 8, 2006 / Notices 

Sales Price (ASP) as required by the 

Medicare Prescription Drug, 

Improvement, and Modernization Act of 

2003 (MMA). This shift reduced the 

reimbursement amount to physicians by 

35 percent for the powder form of IVIG 

and by 15 percent for the liquid form of 

IVIG. Since January 2005, some patient 

advocacy groups and physicians have 

reported difficulty acquiring IVIG. The 

FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and 

Research, however, has not identified a 

shortage of IVIG. There have also been 

reports of IVIG being diverted to 

secondary markets with increases in 

prices. 

The focus of the Town Hall meeting 

is on receiving information from 

stakeholders that will be helpful in the 

analysis. The Town Hall meeting will 

accept comments from all stakeholders, 

but is focused on patient and physician 

concerns with access to IVIG including: 

(1) Patients switching IVIG products 

due to access problems, 

(2) Changes in the administration 

location, 

(3) Patients receiving fewer 

treatments, 

(4) Patients receiving reduced 

dosages, and 

(5) Reimbursement problems with 

IVIG products, 

(6) Patients receiving reduced 

dosages, and 

(7) Health consequences for patients 

of any access issues. 

II. Registration 

Registration procedures: Registration 

can be completed online at https:// 

www2.ergweb.com/projects/ 

conferences/hhs/. To register by 

telephone, contact ERG’s Conference 

Registration Line at 781–674–7374. The 

following information must be provided 

when registering: Name, organization 

name and address (if applicable), and 

consent to publish contact information 

on a participants list and other reports 

to document the Town Hall meeting. An 

ERG staff member will confirm your 

registration by mail, e-mail, or fax. 

Attendees may participate in person or 

by phone. If you wish to participate by 

phone, please indicate this in your 

registration and a call-in conference 

number will be provided in your 

registration confirmation. Attendees 

must register by September 21. 

III. Comment Format 

a. ‘‘5-Minute’’ Public Comment 

Meeting attendees can sign up on a 

first-come, first-served basis to present 

their comments (maximum of 5 

minutes) via the meeting Web site when 

you register. Comments may be made in 

person or by phone. Commenters should 

focus on issues related to access to IVIG 

and quantify these impacts when 

possible. Commenters must provide 

their name, title, and organization (if 

applicable) on their registration and 

identify the topic area they will address. 

Presenters that can not attend in person 

can participate via phone. If you are 

unable to attend in person, you should 

indicate at registration that you wish to 

participate via phone. A call-in 

conference number will be provided to 

you in your registration confirmation. 

b. Written Comments From Meeting 

Attendees 

Written comments are welcome from 

the public regardless of whether you 

attend the Town Hall Meeting or 

whether you make an oral presentation 

at the Town Hall Meeting. Written 

comments can be submitted either at the 

meeting, or before or after the meeting 

via e-mail to meetings@erg.com (subject: 

IVIG Meeting Comments). Or via regular 

mail to Attn: IVIG Meeting, ERG, 110 

Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421. 

Please note that electronic submissions 

are preferred due to delays in receiving 

US Postal Mail. We are able to consider 

only those comments received in 

writing and/or via e-mail by 5 p.m. EST 

on October 15, 2006. 

IV. Special Accommodations 

Individuals attending the meeting 

who are hearing- or visually-impaired 

and have special requirements, or a 

condition that requires special 

assistance or accommodations, must 

provide this information when 

registering for the meeting and 

accommodations will be made. 

Dated: August 31, 2006. 

Jerry Regier, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Planning and Evaluation, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and 

Evaluation. 

[FR Doc. 06–7510 Filed 9–7–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4151–06–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Meeting of the National Vaccine 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Office of the Secretary. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: As stipulated by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice 

that the National Vaccine Advisory 

Committee (NVAC) will hold a meeting. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

September 26, 2006, from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m., and on September 27, 2006, from 

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Department of Health and 

Human Services; Hubert H. Humphrey 

Building, Room 800; 200 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Emma English, Program Analyst, 

National Vaccine Program Office, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, Room 443–H Hubert H. 

Humphrey Building, 200 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201; 

(202) 690–5566, nvac@hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 2101 of the Public Service 

Act (42 U.S.C. 300aa–1), the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services was 

mandated to establish the National 

Vaccine Program to achieve optimal 

prevention of human infectious diseases 

through immunization and to achieve 

optimal prevention against adverse 

reactions to vaccines. The National 

Vaccine Advisory Committee was 

established to provide advice and make 

recommendations to the Assistant 

Secretary for Health, as the Director of 

the National Vaccine Program, on 

matters related to the program’s 

responsibilities. 

Topics to be discussed at the meeting 

include: the 2006–2007 influenza 

season, increasing immunization among 

adolescents, vaccine financing, 

implementation plans for new vaccines, 

and vaccine safety. Updates will be 

given by various subcommittees and 

working groups. A tentative agenda will 

be made available on or about 

September 5, 2006 for review on the 

NVAC Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/ 

nvpo/nvac. 

Public attendance at the meeting is 

limited to space available. Individuals 

must provide a photo ID for entry into 

the Humphrey Building. Individuals 

who plan to attend and need special 

assistance, such as sign language 

interpretation or other reasonable 

accommodations, should notify the 

designated contact person. Members of 

the public will have the opportunity to 

provide comments at the meeting. 

Public comment will be limited to five 

minutes per speaker. Any members of 

the public who wish to have printed 

material distributed to NVAC members 

should submit materials to the 

Executive Secretary, NVAC, through the 

contact person listed above prior to 

close of business September 19, 2006. 

Preregistration is required for both 

public attendance and comment. Any 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES