Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2024 / Notices 81915 

Registration 

The FAR Council is committed to 

engaging with industry partners and the 

public with regards to FAR Council 

policies and issues relevant to current 

and future Federal Acquisition 

Regulation cases, including suggestions 

and concerns with new and existing 

policies. In addition, the FAR Council is 

interested in hearing views on topics 

such as: (1) new laws or draft legislation 

on which it should focus; (2) how it can 

improve the acquisition process; and (3) 

how to better integrate commercial 

practices into Federal acquisition. To 

that end, the FAR Council is hosting a 

hybrid in-person and virtual listening 

session on December 4, 2024. 

Industry partners and the public 

wishing to attend in-person or virtually 

must register. Registrants who would 

like to attend in-person must do so no 

later than November 15, 2024. 

Registrants who would like to address 

the FAR Council must register in 

advance and no later than November 8, 

2024. The FAR Council would like to 

hear the views of as many voices as 

practicable and will select questions/ 

comments keeping in mind the number 

received, the limited time available and 

the order received. Industry partners 

and the public are asked to only register 

to speak to one of these categories: 

• New policies the FAR Council should 

consider 

• Existing policies the FAR Council 

should amend 

• Concerns/suggestions regarding rules 

in process 

• Concerns/suggestions regarding the 

use of emerging technology 

• Concerns/suggestions regarding the 

process of rulemaking 

• Other concerns/suggestions 

To register to attend the listening 

session VIRTUALLY, do so at: https://

gsa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/ 

7117272728587/WN_

NU9vFABzQqmJ9mGtyUsNsQ. 

To register to attend the listening 

session In-Person, do so at: https://

forms.gle/yZj5RLdPdHRp5EnU8. 

After registering, to request to speak 

on one of the previously listed 

categories, do so at: https://forms.gle/

eFLwVcdb6K4EiKSg7. 

Members of the press, in addition to 

registering for this event, must RSVP to 

press@gsa.gov by November 8, 2024. 

Format 

The in-person and virtual listening 

session will feature panel leaders from 

the FAR Council. Please complete the 

speaking request form to provide a brief 

summary of your comments in a 

specified category no later than 5 p.m. 

(ET) November 8, 2024. Registered 

participants that are selected to address 

the FAR Council will receive a 

confirmation and a timeframe to 

present. 

In-person FAR Council Listening 

Session Panelists will be: 

Jeffrey A. Koses, Senior Procurement 

Executive, General Services 

Administration 

John M. Tenaglia, Principal Director, 

Defense Pricing, Contracting, and 

Acquisition Policy, Office of the 

Secretary of Defense, Department of 

Defense 

Karla S. Jackson, Assistant 

Administrator for Procurement, 

NASA Headquarters 

Agenda 

• 9:00: Welcome and Introduction of 

the FAR Council 

• 9:15: Facilitated opportunities for 

attendees to engage with the FAR 

Council 

• 11:45: Closing remarks by FAR 

Council 

Special Accommodations 

This virtual meeting is accessible to 

people with disabilities using the Zoom 

close captioned feature. 

Frederick Landry, 

Analyst, Office of the Procurement 

Ombudsman, General Services 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23343 Filed 10–8–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–61–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Statement of Organization, Functions, 

and Delegations of Authority 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality has modified its 

organizational structure. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part E, 

chapter E (Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality), of the Statement 

of Organization, Functions, and 

Delegations of Authority for the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (61 FR 15955–58) April 10, 

1996, most recently amended at 81 FR 

22271 on April 15, 2016) is amended to 

reflect recent organizational changes. 

The specific amendments are as follows: 

I. Under Section E–10, Organization, 

delete all components and replace them 

with the following: 

A. Office of the Director. 

B. Center for Evidence and Practice 

Improvement. 

C. Center for Quality Improvement and 

Patient Safety. 

D. Center for Financing, Access, and 

Cost Trends. 

E. Office of Communications. 

F. Office of Extramural Research, 

Education, and Priority Populations. 

G. Office of Management Services. 

II. Under Section E–20, Functions, 

delete Center for Evidence and Practice 

Improvement, Center for Financing, 

Access, and Cost Trends, Center for 

Quality Improvement and Patient 

Safety, and Office of the Director in its 

entirety and replace with the following: 

Center for Evidence and Practice 

Improvement. Conducts and supports 

research on health care delivery and 

practice improvement across the 

continuum of care from prevention to 

chronic care management to end-of-life 

care. Specifically: (1) Synthesizes 

evidence and translates science for 

multiple stakeholders; (2) advances 

decision and communication sciences to 

facilitate informed treatment and 

healthcare decision-making by patients 

and their healthcare providers; (3) 

explores how digital healthcare research 

can improve clinical decision-making 

and health care quality; (4) catalyzes 

and promotes sustainability of 

improvements in clinical practice across 

health care settings through research, 

demonstration projects, and partnership 

development; (5) studies the roles that 

health professionals, health systems, 

and organizations play in the provision 

of health care services; (6) examines the 

role of health systems in improving 

quality and efficiency of health care 

services; and (7) operates the National 

Center for Excellence in Primary Care 

Research. 

Shall be organized into the following 

four divisions: 

Division of Evidence-Based Practice 

Centers: Produces evidence syntheses 

by conducting systematic evidence 

reviews using robust and rigorous 

methodologies and advances evidence 

synthesis methods to ensure scientific 

rigor and unbiased reviews. 

Division of U.S. Preventive Services 

Task Force: Provides scientific, 

administrative, and dissemination 

support for the independent U.S. 

Preventive Services Task Force, 

enabling the Task Force to make 

evidence-based recommendations on 

clinical preventive services. 

Division of Digital Healthcare 

Research: Utilizes advanced analytics to 


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81916 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2024 / Notices 

enhance healthcare decision-making 

and research how facets of the evolving 

digital healthcare ecosystem can best 

create transformational value for 

patients and their families in delivering 

safe and effective care. 

Division of Practice Improvement: 

Advances the science of clinical 

practice improvement, including shared 

decision-making; evaluates and 

supports innovative models of practice 

transformation in diverse settings; 

facilitates communities of learning to 

promote the implementation of 

evidence for practice improvement; and 

serves as a trusted source of evidence 

and tool development for methods, 

measures, and evaluation of practice 

improvement. 

Center for Financing, Access, and 

Cost Trends. Conducts and supports 

studies of the use of and expenditures 

for healthcare services, the sources of 

payment for that care, the availability 

and cost of health insurance, and access 

to healthcare. Administers large-scale 

surveys and develops large data sets to 

support health care policy and 

behavioral research and analysis. 

Shall be organized into the following 

four divisions: 

Division of Statistical Research and 

Methods (DSRM): Provides a wide range 

of statistical activities for designing and 

implementing the Medical Expenditure 

Panel Survey (MEPS) and for planning 

and researching to help guide and 

improve these data collection and 

analysis. 

Division of Research and Modeling 

(DRM): Conducts studies on access to, 

costs, and financing of healthcare 

services. Provides ongoing analytic 

support to MEPS design and 

implementation. Develops and 

maintains various simulation models, 

components, databases, tools, and 

research products that enhance the 

value of the AHRQ data. Utilizes these 

models and databases to conduct 

microsimulation analyses of the effects, 

on households and individuals, of 

health policies embodied in current law 

and the potential impacts of healthcare 

policies embodied in generic versions of 

proposed healthcare reforms. 

Division of Survey Operations (DSO): 

Oversees the MEPS data collection, 

processing, and distribution activities. 

Directs data collection for the major 

MEPS surveys, prepares data files for 

public use, and conducts workshops on 

the appropriate use of MEPS data. 

Publishes statistical briefs, research 

findings, and a series of methodological 

reports. Manages a data center for 

researchers that houses MEPS data and 

maintains liaisons with Federal and 

non-federal individuals and 

organizations engaged in health services 

research. 

Division of Healthcare Delivery and 

Systems Research (DHDSR): Develops 

new evidence, tools, and measures to 

understand how health care is delivered 

in the U.S., emphasizing the roles that 

physicians, physician practices, 

hospitals, health systems, other medical 

professionals, and organizations play in 

the provision of health care services. 

Center for Quality Improvement and 

Patient Safety. Measures the 

performance of the U.S. health care 

system; identifies, promotes, and 

supports evidence-based research; and 

provides information used to improve 

the safety and quality of health care. 

Collaborates with stakeholders across 

the health care system to implement 

evidence-based practices and accelerate 

and amplify improvements in quality, 

including patient and workforce safety. 

Shall be organized into the following 

five divisions: 

Division of General Patient Safety: 

Leads research efforts on the risks and 

harms inherent in delivering healthcare 

services in various settings. Develops, 

tests, and facilitates understanding and 

use of evidence-based tools and 

information to improve the quality and 

safety of health care and reduce the risk 

of patient harm. 

Division of Patient Safety 

Organizations: Administers the Patient 

Safety Organization (PSO) Program per 

the Patient Safety and Quality 

Improvement Act 2005. Approves and 

oversees PSOs that apply for official 

federal ‘‘listing.’’ Publishes Common 

Formats for measuring adverse events in 

hospitals. 

Division of Healthcare-Associated 

Infections: Leads research studies and 

implementation projects that prevent, 

reduce, and ultimately eliminate 

healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) 

and combat antibiotic resistance. It 

fosters the creation of new knowledge 

and the generation of evidence to 

develop improved methods for 

preventing healthcare-associated 

infections and improving antibiotic use 

in multiple settings. It promotes the 

wide-scale implementation of effective 

interventions for preventing HAIs and 

promoting antibiotic stewardship in all 

these care settings. 

Division of Quality Measurement and 

Improvement: Conducts quality 

measurement and evaluates 

improvement activities to improve 

healthcare delivered in the United 

States. Seeks opportunities to integrate 

various measurement efforts to provide 

a complete picture of quality and safety. 

Promotes enhanced collaboration and 

coordination of measurement efforts, 

including integration where possible, to 

serve the needs of multiple stakeholders 

who use measurements, such as frontline clinicians, patients, safety and 

quality experts, administrators, 

researchers, payers, policymakers, and 

others. Conducts focused measurement 

programs, including the Consumer 

Assessment of Healthcare Providers and 

Systems, Surveys on Patient Safety 

Culture programs, and the AHRQ 

Quality Indicators. 

Division of Healthcare Data and 

Analytics (DHDA): Leads the 

development, production, and 

improvement of healthcare delivery data 

and tools for use in research and policy 

analysis focused on HCUP and the 

supply side of the medical care market. 

Directs, conducts, and supports research 

on health care delivery and utilization 

to examine issues related to access, 

utilization, cost, safety, and quality of 

hospital, physician, and other services. 

Disseminates data, tools, and statistics 

to facilitate and inform public and 

private health policy analysis, clinical 

studies, and socioeconomic research. 

Office of the Director (OD). Provides 

leadership of the Agency and is 

responsible for planning, managing, and 

coordinating Agency programs and 

activities in fulfillment of AHRQ’s 

mission. Principal activities include 

ensuring the overall scientific integrity 

and objectivity of the Agency’s research 

and programs; directing and 

coordinating the Agency’s programs, 

research, training programs, and 

dissemination activities; ensuring 

Agency programs support 

Administration goals and objectives; 

representing the Agency within the 

Department, at the highest levels of 

Government, and to the public. 

Shall be organized into the following 

two sub-offices: 

Immediate Office of the Director 

(IOD). Provides overall leadership of the 

Agency and plans, manages, and 

coordinates the programs and activities 

of all AHRQ components. The IOD 

supports the Director and Deputy 

Director in achieving the Agency’s 

mission. Specifically, (1) provides 

strategic advice to the Director in 

support of agency priorities; (2) 

coordinates the legislative activities of 

the Agency; (3) manages the day-to-day 

operations of the Office of the Director 

and provides administrative support 

services; and (4) controls the flow of 

correspondence and official documents 

entering and leaving the Agency. 

Office of Policy, Planning, and 

Evaluation. Directs and coordinates 

AHRQ’s policy, planning, and 

evaluation. Specifically, (1) directs and 

coordinates program planning activities 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2024 / Notices 81917 

in fulfillment of the Agency’s mission; 

(2) plans and manages the program 

evaluation activities of the Agency, 

including evaluations of dissemination, 

training, and research programs; (3) 

provides support and management for 

the activities of the Agency’s National 

Advisory Council; and (4) maintains 

ongoing liaison with public and private 

sector producers and users of health 

services research. 

All delegations and redelegations of 

authority to officers and employees of 

the Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality officers and employees 

immediately before the effective date of 

this reorganization shall continue in 

effect pending further redelegation, 

provided they are consistent with this 

reorganization. 

These changes are effective upon the 

date of signature. 

Dated: October 3, 2024. 

Robert Otto Valdez, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23316 Filed 10–8–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifiers: CMS–10142 and 

CMS–10203] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing 

an opportunity for the public to 

comment on CMS’ intention to collect 

information from the public. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information (including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information) and to allow 

60 days for public comment on the 

proposed action. Interested persons are 

invited to send comments regarding our 

burden estimates or any other aspect of 

this collection of information, including 

the necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions, 

the accuracy of the estimated burden, 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected, and the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology to minimize the 

information collection burden. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 9, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please 

reference the document identifier or 

OMB control number. To be assured 

consideration, comments and 

recommendations must be submitted in 

any one of the following ways: 

1. Electronically. You may send your 

comments electronically to http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for ‘‘Comment or 

Submission’’ or ‘‘More Search Options’’ 

to find the information collection 

document(s) that are accepting 

comments. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address: CMS, Office of Strategic 

Operations and Regulatory Affairs, 

Division of Regulations Development, 

Attention: Document Identifier/OMB 

Control Number: lll, Room C4–26– 

05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21244–1850. 

To obtain copies of a supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed collection(s) summarized in 

this notice, please access the CMS PRA 

website by copying and pasting the 

following web address into your web 

browser: https://www.cms.gov/ 

Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAListing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William N. Parham at (410) 786–4669. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Contents 

This notice sets out a summary of the 

use and burden associated with the 

following information collections. More 

detailed information can be found in 

each collection’s supporting statement 

and associated materials (see 

ADDRESSES). 

CMS–10142 Bid Pricing Tool (BPT) for 

Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans and 

Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) 

CMS–10203 Medicare Health Outcomes 

Survey 

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3520), Federal agencies must obtain 

approval from the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 

information they conduct or sponsor. 

The term ‘‘collection of information’’ is 

defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 

1320.3(c) and includes agency requests 

or requirements that members of the 

public submit reports, keep records, or 

provide information to a third party. 

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

requires Federal agencies to publish a 

60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information, before 

submitting the collection to OMB for 

approval. To comply with this 

requirement, CMS is publishing this 

notice. 

Information Collections 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Bid Pricing Tool 

(BPT) for Medicare Advantage (MA) 

Plans and Prescription Drug Plans 

(PDP); Use: Medicare Advantage 

organizations (MAO) and Prescription 

Drug Plans (PDP) are required to submit 

an actuarial pricing ‘‘bid’’ for each plan 

offered to Medicare beneficiaries for 

approval by CMS. The MAOs and PDPs 

use the Bid Pricing Tool (BPT) software 

to develop their actuarial pricing bid. 

The competitive bidding process 

defined by the ‘‘The Medicare 

Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

Modernization Act’’ (MMA) applies to 

both the MA and Part D programs. It is 

an annual process that encompasses the 

release of the MA rate book in April, the 

bid’s that plans submit to CMS in June, 

and the release of the Part D and RPPO 

benchmarks, which typically occurs in 

August. Form Number: CMS–10142 

(OMB control number: 0938–0944); 

Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: 

Private sector—Business or other forprofit and Not-for-profit institutions; 

Number of Respondents: 460; Total 

Annual Responses: 11,700; Total 

Annual Hours: 406,000. (For policy 

questions regarding this collection 

contact Rachel Shevland at 410–786– 

3026 or rachel.shevland@cms.hhs.gov.) 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Medicare Health 

Outcomes Survey; Use: The HOS is a 

longitudinal patient-reported outcome 

measure (PROM) that assesses selfreported beneficiary quality of life and 

daily functioning. As a PROM, the HOS 

measures the impact of services 

provided by MAOs, whereas process 

and patient experience measures only 

provide a snapshot of activities or 

experiences at a specific point in time. 

PROM data collected by the HOS allows 

CMS to continue to assess the health of 

the Medicare Advantage population. 

This older population is at increased 

risk of adverse health outcomes, 

including chronic diseases and mobility 

impairments that may significantly 


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