[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10575-10576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5559]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

    Periodically, the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA) publishes abstracts of information collection requests under 
review by the Office of Management and Budget, in compliance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a 
copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, call the 
HRSA Reports Clearance Office on (301)-443-1129.
    The following request has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995:

Customer Survey of Entities Eligible To Participate in the Drug Pricing 
Program--New

    Section 602 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 enacted Section 
340B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, ``Limitation of Prices of 
Drugs Purchased by Covered Entities.'' This section provides that a 
manufacturer that sells outpatient drugs to covered

[[Page 10576]]

entities must agree to charge a price that will not exceed the amount 
determined under a statutory formula. The covered entities--certain PHS 
grantees, disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs), and other selected 
entities, total approximately 11,000 sites. Most of these entities 
serve the economically disadvantaged or medically uninsured. The 
legislative intent of Section 340B is ``to enable * * * certain 
Federally-funded clinics to obtain lower prices on the drugs that they 
provide to their patients.''
    Because of the significant savings that covered entities can 
realize if they are able to access Section 602 pricing, it is 
imperative to know the degree of satisfaction with various aspects of 
the program service and where improvements can be made; and to identify 
the barriers to access and what changes can be made to reduce them. The 
HRSA Office of Drug Pricing Program (ODPP)administers the program and 
has designed a survey with questions that relate to the two areas that 
they can modify readily: The availability of information about the 
program, and the design of the program. The survey also includes 
questions on the amount of savings realized by participating entities, 
how the savings are used, and factors affecting satisfaction with 
savings. Participating and non-participating entities will be surveyed, 
and the results will be used to guide program changes that will 
increase customer satisfaction and ultimately increase program 
participation.
    The estimated burden is as follows:

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                                                                                   Burden per                   
                 Respondents                     Number of      Responses per       response       Total burden 
                                                Respondents       respondent        (hours)           hours     
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Covered entities............................           1,508                1              .25              377 
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of this notice to: 
Laura Oliven, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of Management 
and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 
20503.

    Dated: March 3, 1997.
J. Henry Montes,
Director, Office of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 97-5559 Filed 3-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P