3670 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Notices 

redesignate areas within the United 

States for inclusion in or exclusion from 

a PRCDA. 42 CFR 136.22(b). The 

regulations require that certain criteria 

must be considered before any 

redesignation is made. The criteria are 

as follows: 

(1) The number of Indians residing in 

the area proposed to be so included or 

excluded; 

(2) Whether the Tribal governing body 

has determined that Indians residing in 

the area near the reservation are socially 

and economically affiliated with the 

Tribe; 

(3) The geographic proximity to the 

reservation of the area whose inclusion 

or exclusion is being considered; and 

(4) The level of funding which would 

be available for the provision of PRC. 

Additionally, the regulations require 

that any redesignation of a PRCDA must 

be made in accordance with the 

procedures of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). 42 CFR 

136.22(c). In compliance with this 

requirement, the IHS is publishing this 

Notice and requesting public comments. 

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal 

Nation’s (MPTN, or Tribe) reservation is 

located in New London County, 

Connecticut. The PRC Program is 

operated as a Tribal Health Program by 

the MPTN in Mashantucket, CT. The 

MPTN estimates that approximately 32 

Tribal members and MPTN employees 

who are members of other federally 

recognized Tribes reside in the 

proposed expansion counties, and 

would become PRC eligible through this 

proposal. The MPTN states that the 

Tribal members and American Indian 

and Alaska Native (AI/AN) employees 

who reside in the expanded counties are 

socially and economically affiliated 

with the Tribe, including through 

employment and the utilization of direct 

health care services. The MPTN would 

like to recognize these persons as 

eligible for PRC. Through 

communication with MPTN’s 

representatives, the IHS also 

understands that MPTN’s members live 

in all of the counties requested. 

Accordingly, the IHS proposes to 

expand the PRCDA of the Mashantucket 

Pequot Tribal Nation to include the 

Connecticut counties of Fairfield, 

Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New 

Haven, Tolland, and Windham. 

If the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal 

Nation’s PRCDA expansion is finalized 

as proposed, the Tribe’s PRCDA would 

overlap completely with the PRCDA of 

the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut. The 

Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut has 

previously expressed support of any 

future request made by a federally 

recognized Tribe to establish the entire 

state of Connecticut as a PRCDA, and 

has not expressed any objection to the 

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s 

proposed PRCDA expansion. 

Under 42 CFR 136.23, those otherwise 

eligible Indians who do not reside on a 

reservation, but reside within a PRCDA, 

must be either members of the Tribe or 

other IHS beneficiaries who maintain 

close economic and social ties with the 

Tribe. In this case, applying the 

aforementioned PRCDA redesignation 

criteria required by operative 

regulations codified at 42 CFR part 136, 

subpart C, the following findings are 

made: 

1. By expanding the PRCDA to 

include Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, 

Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and 

Windham Counties, the Mashantucket 

Pequot Tribal Nation’s eligible 

population will be increase by an 

estimated 32 Tribal members and AI/AN 

employees. 

2. The IHS finds that the Tribal 

members and AI/AN employees within 

the expanded PRCDA are socially and 

economically affiliated with the 

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation 

based on a tribal resolution in which the 

MPTN Tribal Council identified its 

intent to expand the PRCDA to include 

all of Connecticut, and stated that the 

Native Americans residing in such areas 

are socially and economically affiliated 

with MPTN. 

3. The expanded PRCDA counties 

form a contiguous area with the existing 

PRCDA, and within one of the smallest 

states. In addition to their AI/AN 

employees, MPTN’s members reside in 

each of the counties proposed for 

inclusion. For these reasons, the IHS has 

determined the additional counties 

proposed for inclusion herein to be 

geographically proximate, meaning ‘‘on 

or near,’’ to the existing PRCDA. 

4. The MPTN has indicated that its 

PRC program can continue providing 

the same level of care to the PRC eligible 

population if the PRCDA is expanded as 

proposed, without requiring additional 

funding or reduction of the current 

medical priority level. 

This Notice does not contain 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

subject to prior approval by the Office 

of Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. 

Roselyn Tso, 

Director, Indian Health Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01017 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4166–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute on Aging; Notice of 

Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 1009 of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Institute on 

Aging Special Emphasis Panel; Impact of 

Toxicants on Aging and AD-related 

Dementias. 

Date: February 14, 2024. 

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institute on Aging, 

Gateway Building, 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, 

Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Nijaguna Prasad, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Branch, National Institute on Aging, 7201 

Wisconsin Avenue, Gateway Bldg., Suite 

2W200, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 496– 

9667, prasadnb@nia.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.866, Aging Research, 

National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: January 12, 2024. 

Miguelina Perez, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00952 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of 

Closed Meetings 

Pursuant to section 1009 of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meetings. 

The meetings will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1