Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Notices 13621

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

[Document Identifier: OIG–10–ICF]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General

(OIG), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection requirement described below

will be submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget for review, as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act. The Department is soliciting public

comment on the proposed application of

preliminary questions under the Office

of Inspector General’s (OIG) advisory

opinion process in accordance with

section 205 of the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act of

1996.

DATES: Written comments should be

received by May 20, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit comments regarding

this collection of information.

Comments should refer to the document

identifier code OIG–10–IFC, and should

be sent to: Cynthia Agens Bauer, OS

Reports Clearance Officer, Room 503H,

Humphrey Building, 200 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To

request more information on the project

or to obtain a copy of the information

collection plans and instruments, please

contact the OS Reports Clearance

Officer, (202) 690–6207.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department of Health and Human

Services, Office of the Secretary

periodically publishes summaries of

proposed information collection

projects and solicits public comments in

compliance with the requirements of

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

Reduction Act of 1995. Interested

persons are invited to send comments

regarding burden estimates or any

aspect of the collection of information,

including (1) whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (3)

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Type of information collection

request: OIG Advisory Opinion

Procedures in 42

CFR Part 1008 and Preliminary

Questions. Section 205 of the Health

Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law

104–191, requires the Department to

provide advisory opinions to the public

regarding several categories of subject

matter, including the requestor’s

potential liability under sections 1128,

1128A and 1128B of the Social Security

Act (the Act). The Office of Inspector

General (OIG) has separately published

interim final regulations in the Federal

Register on February 19, 1997 (62 FR

7350) setting forth the procedures under

which members of the public may

request advisory opinions from the OIG.

That discussion contains a more

thorough discussion of the advisory

opinion process and the role of these

preliminary questions. In order to aid

potential requestors and the OIG in

providing opinions under this process,

the OIG is providing preliminary

questions that may be answered in an

advisory opinion request. These

preliminary questions will be voluntary

and will correspond with each sanction

provision about which advisory

opinions will be rendered. The

aggregate information burden for the

information collection requirements

contained in the interim final rule, in

conjunction with the preliminary

questions, is set forth below.

Respondents: The ‘‘respondents’’ for

the collection of information described

in the OIG rulemaking will be selfselected individuals and entities that

choose to submit request for advisory

opinions to the OIG. We anticipate that

the respondents will include many

types of health care providers, from sole

practitioner physicians to large

diversified publicly-traded corporations.

Estimated number of respondents:

500. Most individuals and entities that

provide medical services that may be

paid for by Medicare, Medicaid or

Federal health care programs could

potentially have questions regarding one

of the subject matters about which the

OIG will issue advisory opinions. In

reality, we believe that the number of

requestors will be a small fraction of

such providers.

Over the past several years, the Office

of the General Counsel, Inspector

General Division has answered

telephone inquiries from individuals

and entities seeking informal guidance

with respect to the Medicare and State

health care programs’ anti-kickback

statute and other sanction authorities.

Many of the inquiries related to

authorities outside the scope of the

advisory opinion process, such as the

self-referral provisions of section 1877

of the Act. In addition, we believe that

most of the inquiries received have been

of a nature that the caller or requestor

would be unlikely to request a formal

written advisory opinion on the subject

matter. Many inquiries related to rather

simple and straight-forward matters that

could have been researched by private

counsel at relatively minor expense.

Nevertheless, the rate of these telephone

inquiries form a starting point for

estimating point for estimating the

potential number of advisory opinion

requests.

We estimate that the OIG received an

average of six related telephone

inquiries per day over the past several

years. Using that history as a general

guide and benchmark, we estimate an

annual number of 500 respondents.

Obviously, the actual number of

requests could be larger since, for the

first time, formal written opinions are

available. Conversely, the number of

inquiries could be less based on

combination of several unquantifiable

reasons, including the desire not to have

one’s arrangement be subject to scrutiny

by the OIG (following issuance of the

opinion) and the general public.

Estimated number of responses per

respondent: One.

Estimated total annual (hour) burden

on respondents: 5,000 hours. We believe

that the burden of preparing requests for

advisory opinions will vary widely

depending upon the differences in the

size of the entity making the request and

the complexity of the advice sought. We

estimate that the average burden for

each submitted request for an advisory

opinion will be in the range of 2 to 40

hours. We further believe that the

burden for most requests will be closer

to the lower end of this range, with an

average burden of approximately 10

hours per respondent.

The OIG is requiring requests for

advisory opinions to involve actual or

intended fact scenarios. We anticipate

that most requests will involve business

arrangements into which the requesting

party intends to enter. Because the facts

will relate to business plans, the

requesting party will have collected and

analyzed all, or almost all, of the

information we will need to collect to

review the request. Therefore, in order

to request an advisory opinion, in many

instances the requestor will simply have

need to compile already collected

information for our examination. In

some cases, the requestor may need to
13622 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Notices

expend a more significant amount of

time and cost in preparing a submission

related to more complex arrangements

that involve a large number of parties or

participants.

Estimated annual cost burden on

respondents (in addition to the hour

burden): $1,000,000. In addition to the

hour burden on respondents discussed

above, some respondents may incur

additional information collection costs

related to the purchase of outside

professional services, such as attorneys

or consultants. We believe that the cost

burden related to such outside

assistance will vary from zero to 40

hours per request, with an average of 10

hours. At the rate of $200 per hour, this

total burden would amount to

$1,000,000.

Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35,

as amended.

Dated: March 10, 1997.

Dennis P. Williams,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget.

[FR Doc. 97–7138 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–04–P

Notice of a Cooperative Agreement

With the National Association for

Equal Opportunity in Higher Education

The Office of Minority Health (OMH),

Office of Public Health and Science,

announces that it will enter into an

umbrella cooperative agreement with

The National Association For Equal

Opportunity in Higher Education

(NAFEO). This cooperative agreement

will establish the broad programmatic

framework within which specific

projects can be funded as they are

identified during the project period.

The purpose of this cooperative

agreement is to assist the national

association in expanding and enhancing

its activities relevant to education,

health promotion and disease

prevention, and family and youth

violence prevention with the ultimate

goal of improving the health status of

minorities and disadvantaged people.

The OMH will provide consultation,

including administrative and technical

assistance as needed, for the execution

and evaluation of all aspects of this

cooperative agreement. The OMH will

also participate and/or collaborate with

the awardee in any workshops or

symposia to exchange current

information, opinions, and research

findings.

Authorizing Legislation

This cooperative agreement is

authorized under Title XVII, Section

1707(d)(1) of the Public Health Service

Act, as amended by Public Law 101–

527.

Background

Assistance will be provided only to

NAFEO. No other applications are

solicited. NAFEO is the only

organization capable of administering

this cooperative agreement because it

has:

1. A well developed infrastructure

and communications network to

coordinate and implement various

health promotion and prevention

educational programs within the

Historically Black Colleges and

Universities (HBCUs) communities and

with local community organizations in

close proximity to their campuses. It is

the only organization of its kind that

works exclusively with both public and

private, two-aand four-year, and

graduate and professional black colleges

and universities. Since the presidents of

the black colleges and universities

represent their institutions in NAFEO, it

has a direct linkage that would facilitate

the coordination of activities that will

benefit all of these institutions.

NAFEO has extensive experience in

convening general conferences and

specific technical assistance workshops

for black colleges and universities. This

experience provides a foundation upon

which to develop and promote health

education related programs aimed at

preventing and reducing unnecessary

morbidity and mortality rates among

African American populations.

2. Established itself and its members

as a national association with

professionals who serve as leaders and

experts in planning, developing,

implementing, and promoting

educational and policy campaigns

(locally and nationally) aimed at

reducing adverse health behaviors and

improving the African American

community’s overall educational and

social well being.

3. Experience in implementing

workshops to assist specific Federal

agencies in involving HBCUs in an

appropriate and effective manner in

their programs, including:

Work with Department of Defense

(DOD) to increase participation of

HBCUs in DOD funded activities as

prime contractors or as subcontractors,

or collaborators or partners with

industry, major research universities,

and small and disadvantaged

businesses. This included the conduct

of approximately 15 Defense Technical

Assistance workshops to increase the

participation of HBCUs and other

minority institutions in the DOD

procurement process.

A series of 20 regional seminars

involving the U.S. Agency for

International Development (AID)

officials and representatives of HBCUs

to increase the involvement of HBCUs

in U.S. AID development programs.

Workshops for the Air Force Office of

Scientific Research (AFOSR) on solving

technical problems of development and

maintenance of a superior Air Force

weapons systems and a safeguard for

defense.

4. Developed a base of critical

knowledge, skills, and abilities related

to HBCU issues including health and

social problems. Through the collective

efforts of its members, community-based

organizations, volunteers, NAFEO has

demonstrated (1) the ability to work

with academic institutions and health

groups on mutual education, research,

and health endeavors relating to the goal

of health promotion and disease

prevention of African Americans; (2) the

leadership necessary to attract minority

students into public service and health

careers; and (3) the leadership needed to

assist health care professionals to work

more effectively with African American

clients and communities.

This cooperative agreement will be

awarded in FY 1997 for a 12-month

budget period within a project period of

3 years. Continuation awards within the

project period will be made on the basis

of satisfactory progress and the

availability of funds.

Where To Obtain Additional

Information

If you are interested in obtaining

additional information regarding this

project, contact Ms. Georgia Buggs,

Office of Minority Health, 5515 Security

Lane, Suite 1000, Rockville, Maryland

20852 or telephone (301) 443–5084.

Clay E. Simpson, Jr.,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority

Health.

[FR Doc. 97–7116 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–M

Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry

[ATSDR–118]

Quarterly Public Health Assessments

Completed

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances

and Disease Registry (ATSDR),

Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice is a quarterly

announcement that contains a list of

sites for which ATSDR has completed