18820 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2012 / Notices 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

May 29, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by Information Collection 

9000–0067, Incentive Contracts, by any 

of the following methods: 

• Regulations.gov: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Submit comments 

via the Federal eRulemaking portal by 

inputting ‘‘Information Collection 9000– 

0067, Incentive Contracts’’ under the 

heading ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’ and 

selecting ‘‘Search’’. Select the link 

‘‘Submit a Comment’’ that corresponds 

with ‘‘Information Collection 9000– 

0067, Incentive Contracts’’. Follow the 

instructions provided at the ‘‘Submit a 

Comment’’ screen. Please include your 

name, company name (if any), and 

‘‘Information Collection 9000–0067, 

Incentive Contracts’’ on your attached 

document. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20417. ATTN: Hada 

Flowers/IC 9000–0067, Incentive 

Contracts. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite Information Collection 

9000–0067, Incentive Contracts, in all 

correspondence related to this 

collection. All comments received will 

be posted without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael O. Jackson, Procurement 

Analyst, Office of Acquisition Policy, 

GSA (202) 208–4949 or via email 

michaelo.jackson@gsa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose 

In accordance with FAR 16.4, 

incentive contracts are normally used 

when a firm fixed-price contract is not 

appropriate and the required supplies or 

services can be acquired at lower costs, 

and sometimes with improved delivery 

or technical performance, by relating the 

amount of profit or fee payable under 

the contract to the contractor’s 

performance. 

The information required periodically 

from the contractor, such as cost of work 

already performed, estimated costs of 

further performance necessary to 

complete all work, total contract price 

for supplies or services accepted by the 

Government for which final prices have 

been established, and estimated costs 

allocable to supplies or services 

accepted by the Government and for 

which final prices have not been 

established, is needed to negotiate the 

final prices of incentive-related items 

and services. Contractors are required to 

submit the information in accordance 

with several incentive fee FAR clauses: 

FAR 52.216–16, Incentive Price 

Revision—Firm Target; FAR 52.216–17, 

Incentive Price Revision—Successive 

Targets; and FAR 52.216–10, Incentive 

Fee. 

The contracting officer evaluates the 

information received to determine the 

contractor’s performance in meeting the 

incentive target and the appropriate 

price revision, if any, for the items or 

services. 

B. Annual Reporting Burden 

Respondents: 3,000. 

Responses Per Respondent: 1. 

Annual Responses: 3,000. 

Hours Per Response: 1. 

Total Burden Hours: 3,000. 

Obtaining Copies of Proposals: 

Requesters may obtain a copy of the 

information collection documents from 

the General Services Administration, 

Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 

First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417, 

telephone (202) 501–4755. 

Please cite OMB Control No. 9000– 

0067, Incentive Contracts, in all 

correspondence. 

Dated: March 20, 2012. 

Laura Auletta, 

Director, Office of Governmentwide 

Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition 

Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7416 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

[Document Identifier OS–0990–0260; 30-Day 

Notice] 

Agency Information Collection 

Request; 30-Day Public Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS. 

In compliance with the requirement 

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

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Office of the Secretary (OS), Department 

of Health and Human Services, is 

publishing the following summary of a 

proposed collection for public 

comment. Interested persons are invited 

to send comments regarding this burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including any 

of 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. 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, email your request, 

including your address, phone number, 

OMB number, and OS document 

identifier, to 

Sherette.funncoleman@hhs.gov, or call 

the Reports Clearance Office on (202) 

690–5683. Send written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collections within 30 days 

of this notice directly to the OS OMB 

Desk Officer; faxed to OMB at 202–395– 

5806. 

Proposed Project: Protection of 

Human Subjects: Assurance of 

Compliance with Federal Policy/IRB 

Review/IRB Recordkeeping/Informed 

Consent/Consent Documentation—OMB 

No. 0990–0260—Office for Human 

Research Protections. 

Abstract: Section 491(a) of Public Law 

99–158 states that the Secretary of HHS 

shall by regulation require that each 

entity applying for HHS support (e.g., a 

grant, contract, or cooperative 

agreement) to conduct research 

involving human subjects submit to 

HHS assurances satisfactory to the 

Secretary that it has established an 

institutional review board (IRB) to 

review the research in order to ensure 

protection of the rights and welfare of 

the human research subjects. IRBs are 

boards, committees, or groups formally 

designated by an entity to review, 

approve, and have continuing oversight 

of research involving human subjects. 

Pursuant to the requirement of the 

Public Law 99–158, HHS promulgated 

regulations at 45 CFR part 46, subpart A, 

the basic HHS Policy for the Protection 

of Human Subjects. The June 18, 1991 

adoption of the common Federal Policy 

(56 FR 28003) by 15 departments and 

agencies implements a recommendation 

of the President’s Commission for the 

Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine 

and Biomedical and Behavioral 

Research which was established on 

November 9, 1974, by Public Law 95– 

622. The Common Rule is based on HHS 

regulations at 45 CFR part 46, subpart A, 

the basic HHS Policy for the Protection 

of Human Subjects. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2012 / Notices 18821 

TOTAL ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN—DOLLARS

Title Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses 

per 

respondent 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(in hours) 

Total 

burden hours 

.103(b)(4), .109(d) IRB Actions, .116 and .117 Informed Consent ................. 6,000 39.33 1 235,980 

.115(a) IRB Recordkeeping ............................................................................. 6,000 15 10 900,000 

.103(b)(5) Incident Reporting, .113 Suspension or Termination Reporting .... 6,000 0.5 45/60 2,250 

Total .......................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 1,138,230 

Keith A. Tucker, 

Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance Officer, 

Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7464 Filed 3–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–36–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality; Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approve the proposed 

information collection project: 

‘‘Adapting Best Practices for Medicaid 

Readmissions.’’ In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501–3521, AHRQ invites the public to 

comment on this proposed information 

collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by May 29, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

Adapting Best Practices for Medicaid 

Readmissions 

One particular mission of AHRQ is to 

improve the efficiency of health care 

through reducing unnecessary health 

care costs while maintaining or 

improving quality. The proposed data 

collection supports this goal through 

developing strategies to assist safety net 

hospitals in reducing readmissions for 

Medicaid patients. Previous research 

has shown that a focus on transitional 

care, including needs assessment, 

discharge planning, post-discharge 

intervention, and care coordination can 

reduce avoidable readmissions. Based 

on this evidence, there have been a 

number of strategies and resources 

developed for hospitals to reduce 

avoidable readmissions, including: 

• The Aging & Disability Resource 

Centers Evidence-Based Care 

Transitions program by the 

Administration on Aging & CMS to 

support state efforts in implementing 

evidence-based care transition models 

for older adults and individuals with 

disabilities. 

• The State Action on Avoidable 

Rehospitalizations (STAAR) initiative 

by the Institute for Healthcare 

Improvement to improve care 

transitions and care coordination 

through state-based multi-stakeholder 

collaborative efforts. 

• The Hospital-to-Home (H2H) 

initiative by the American College of 

Cardiology to reduce readmissions for 

patients with cardiovascular conditions. 

• Project Re-Engineered Discharge 

(RED), funded by AHRQ and the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute, to reduce re-hospitalizations 

by improving hospital discharge 

processes. 

However, the majority of these 

strategies and resources focuses on 

general patient populations or 

specifically targets the elderly and/or 

disabled, primarily Medicare 

populations. Recent research finds that 

rates of readmission among Medicaidinsured non-elderly adults equals that of 

the elderly, Medicare-insured 

population and is 60 percent higher 

than a privately-insured population. It is 

not known whether existing resources 

and strategies to reduce readmissions 

address the circumstances and 

characteristics of Medicaid-insured 

patients. Particular socio-demographic 

characteristics more prevalent in 

populations insured through Medicaid, 

such as low-income, racial and ethnic 

minority, low literacy, housing 

instability, mental illness, substance 

abuse disorders, chronic and disabling 

conditions, language barriers, and 

discontinuous insurance coverage may 

mean that strategies for reducing 

readmissions need to be tailored 

specifically to the unique needs of this 

population. 

Additionally, safety net hospitals, 

which serve large populations of the 

most vulnerable in society and where 

Medicaid is often a major payer, face 

unique conditions. Not only do they 

serve more vulnerable populations, they 

are often constrained by their financing 

and governance structures. Safety net 

hospitals generally operate on lower 

financial margins than other hospitals 

because they are often underpaid for 

many services provided to Medicaid 

recipients and the uninsured. Faced 

with declining contributions from state 

and local governments and payment 

reduction from both public and private 

payers, many are struggling to meet the 

growing demand for their services with 

stagnant or declining revenues. 

Resources addressing hospital 

readmissions may also have to be 

tailored to meet the unique 

circumstances of safety net settings. 

This project will recruit six safety net 

hospitals to assess the existing resources 

and strategies and suggest and test 

modifications to address the particular 

circumstances related to Medicaid 

readmissions and safety net hospital 

settings. The goals of this project are to: 

• Identify factors at the patient, 

provider, and community levels that 

especially contribute to hospital 

readmissions for Medicaid patients; 

• Assess and test existing strategies to 

reduce avoidable readmissions for their 

adequacy and applicability to Medicaidinsured populations and safety net 

hospital settings; 

• Modify and test modifications of 

existing strategies as necessary for 

applicability to Medicaid-insured 

populations and safety net hospital 

settings; and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES