38168 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2022 / Notices 

will be posted on the TBDWG web page 

at https://www.hhs.gov/ash/advisorycommittees/tickbornedisease/meetings/ 

2022-07-19/index.html when this 

information becomes available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Berger, Designated Federal Officer 

for the TBDWG; Office of Infectious 

Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Health, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 

C Street SW, Suite L600, Washington, 

DC 20024. Email: tickbornedisease@

hhs.gov. Phone: 202–795–7608. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A link to 

view the webcast can be found on the 

meeting website at https://www.hhs.gov/ 

ash/advisory-committees/ 

tickbornedisease/meetings/2022-07-19/ 

index.html when it becomes available. 

The public will have an opportunity to 

present their views to the TBDWG orally 

during the meeting’s public comment 

session or by submitting a written 

public comment. Comments should be 

pertinent to the meeting discussion. 

Persons who wish to provide verbal or 

written public comment should review 

instructions at https://www.hhs.gov/ 

ash/advisory-committees/ 

tickbornedisease/meetings/2022-07-19/ 

index.html and respond by midnight 

July 11, 2022 ET. Verbal comments will 

be limited to three minutes each to 

accommodate as many speakers as 

possible during the 30-minute session. 

Written public comments will be 

accessible to the public on the TBDWG 

web page prior to the meeting. 

Background and Authority: The TickBorne Disease Working Group was 

established on August 10, 2017, in 

accordance with Section 2062 of the 

21st Century Cures Act, and the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., 

as amended, to provide expertise and 

review federal efforts related to all tickborne diseases, to help ensure 

interagency coordination and minimize 

overlap, and to examine research 

priorities. The TBDWG is required to 

submit a report to the HHS Secretary 

and Congress on their findings and any 

recommendations for the federal 

response to tick-borne disease every two 

years. 

Dated: June 7, 2022. 

James J. Berger, 

Designated Federal Officer, Tick-Borne 

Disease Working Group, Office of Infectious 

Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13575 Filed 6–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–28–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Request for Information (RFI): HHS 

Initiative To Strengthen Primary Health 

Care 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Health, Office of the 

Secretary, Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

ACTION: Notice of Request for 

Information. 

SUMMARY: U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS) Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) 

requests input from persons, 

communities, health care providers, 

purchasers and payers, educators, 

researchers, and other members of the 

public about what the federal 

government could do to strengthen 

primary health care in the United States. 

Improving access to health care, 

advancing health equity, and improving 

the health of the Nation are top 

priorities for the Biden-Harris 

Administration and HHS. Access to 

high-quality primary health care has 

been shown to improve health equity 

and health outcomes, and is essential 

for addressing key priorities, including: 

the COVID–19 pandemic; mental and 

substance use disorder prevention and 

care, including suicide and overdose 

prevention; prevention and management 

of chronic conditions; gender-based 

violence; and maternal and child health 

and well-being. However, our nation’s 

primary health care foundation is 

weakening and in need of support: 

primary health care is under-resourced; 

the workforce is shrinking; workforce 

well-being is in peril; and many 

practices face reimbursement challenges 

that may result in financial instability. 

The HHS Initiative to Strengthen 

Primary Health Care (the Initiative) aims 

to establish a federal foundation for the 

provision of primary health care for all 

that supports improved health outcomes 

and advanced health equity. The first 

task is to develop an initial HHS plan 

for strengthening primary health care 

that will delineate specific actions that 

HHS agencies and offices may take to 

achieve the aims, within the current 

legislation and funding environment. In 

addition, the plan will include actions 

that establish an infrastructure in HHS 

to continue its focus on strengthening 

primary health, developing subsequent 

HHS plans that build on the initial plan, 

and monitoring progress and impact. 

The purpose of this RFI is to provide 

OASH with diverse perspectives, 

experiences, and knowledge that may 

inform the development of the initial 

plan for HHS, as well as future steps for 

the Initiative. OASH seeks information 

about successful approaches and 

innovations that improve primary 

health care payment, delivery models, 

service integration, access, workforce 

education, training and well-being, 

digital health and primary care 

measurement and research. OASH also 

seeks information about barriers to 

implementation of such innovations and 

how they could be overcome, including 

specific ideas for possible HHS action. 

OASH encourages respondents to 

address health equity, and is 

particularly interested in information 

from community-based settings, such as 

public housing, personal homes, group 

homes, and assisted living facilities 

where older adults and people with 

disabilities may live, and about 

populations traditionally underserved 

by current primary health care. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at the email 

address provided below, no later than 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on August 

1, 2022. HHS will not reply individually 

to responders but will consider all 

comments submitted by the deadline. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit all responses 

via email to OASHPrimaryHealthCare@

hhs.gov as a Word document attachment 

or in the body of an email. Include 

‘‘Primary Health Care RFI’’ in the 

subject line of the email. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information, direct questions 

to the OASH Primary Health Care Team 

at OASHPrimaryHealthCare@hhs.gov or 

Sarah Boateng at (202) 401–7003. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Instructions: Response to this RFI is 

voluntary. Each responding entity 

(person or organization) is requested to 

submit only one response. OASH 

welcomes responses to inform policies 

and actions to strengthen primary health 

care. Respond to one or as many 

prompts as you choose. Be concise with 

your submissions, which must not 

exceed four pages in 12-point or larger 

font, with a page number provided on 

each page. Responses should include 

the name of the person(s) or 

organization(s) filing the comment. 

OASH invites input from members of 

the public representing all backgrounds 

and perspectives. In particular, OASH is 

interested in input from individuals; 

paid and unpaid caregivers; 

communities; community-based 

organizations; health care providers 

(please state discipline and specialty, as 

appropriate); professional societies; 

community health centers and Rural 

Health Clinics; state, local, tribal, and 

territorial governments and public 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2022 / Notices 38169 

1National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 

and Medicine. 2021. Implementing High-Quality 

Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health 

Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies 

Press. 

health departments; educators; 

academic researchers; global partners; 

health insurance payers and purchasers; 

health technology developers; and 

policy experts. Examples of health care 

providers include, but are not limited 

to: family medicine, internal medicine, 

pediatrics, and obstetrics and 

gynecology physicians; physician 

assistants; nurse practitioners; nurse 

midwives; nurses; behavioral health 

providers; oral health providers; 

medical/surgical specialists; community 

health workers; social workers; care 

coordinators; telehealth navigators; peer 

recovery specialists; provider practices; 

and health care systems. 

Indicate which of these stakeholder 

types best fits you as a respondent, if 

applicable. If a comment is submitted 

on behalf of an organization, the 

individual respondent’s role in the 

organization may also be provided. 

Comments containing references, 

studies, research, and other empirical 

data that are not widely published 

should include copies or electronic 

links of the referenced materials. No 

business proprietary information, 

copyrighted information, or personally 

identifiable information should be 

submitted in response to this RFI. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

RFI may be posted on HHS websites or 

otherwise released publicly. 

Responses to this notice are not offers 

and cannot be accepted by the Federal 

Government to form a binding contract. 

Additionally, those submitting 

responses are solely responsible for all 

expenses associated with response 

preparation. 

Background: The HHS Initiative to 

Strengthen Primary Health Care aims to 

establish a federal foundation that 

supports advancement toward a goal 

state of the practice of primary health 

care. In its goal state, the practice of 

primary health care: 

• Supports health and wellness 

through sustained partnerships with 

patients, families, and their 

communities; 

• Equitably provides first contact 

access to all, as well as whole person, 

comprehensive care over time, using 

interprofessional teams; and 

• Coordinates and integrates care 

across systems, including other health 

care providers, public health, and 

community-based health promotion and 

social service organizations. 

To achieve this goal state, actions and 

resources addressing financial, 

legislative, workforce, public health, 

technology and data sharing, and 

community-based factors are required. 

The Initiative was launched in 

September 2021 by the Office of the 

Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH), 

under the leadership of Assistant 

Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel 

Levine. The first task of the Initiative is 

to develop an initial Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) two 

to three year plan for strengthening 

primary health care that will delineate 

specific actions that HHS agencies and 

offices may take to advance toward the 

goal state of primary health care, 

defined above. In addition, the plan will 

include actions that establish an 

infrastructure in HHS to continue its 

focus on strengthening primary health, 

including developing subsequent HHS 

plans that build on the initial plan, and 

monitoring progress and impact. The 

recently released National Academies of 

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

(NASEM) report, Implementing HighQuality Primary Care: Rebuilding the 

Foundation of Health Care,1 which was 

developed in part with resources 

provided by HHS, will inform the 

development of the HHS Plan. This 

report organizes recommended actions 

using five domains: payment, access, 

workforce, digital health, and 

accountability. OASH is working with 

HHS agency partners and with other 

federal departments to develop the HHS 

plan. These efforts will also be informed 

by feedback from external stakeholders 

and subject matter experts, including 

patients, families, providers, 

researchers, and communities, to learn 

about innovative approaches, needs and 

challenges, to inform the HHS plan. 

This RFI will ensure that OASH has 

obtained broad input, and will inform 

the initial HHS plan and subsequent 

plans. 

Scope and terminology: OASH invites 

input from all interested members of the 

public as outlined in the instructions. 

OASH encourages input from 

traditionally underserved populations. 

Definitions are provided for four of the 

key concepts of the goal state of primary 

health care (see above) that may have 

variable interpretations. 

• Whole person care: Whole person 

care requires an understanding of the 

physical, mental, emotional, and 

spiritual health and wellness goals of 

the individual/family served and the 

context in which they live and work, 

and is facilitated by goal-oriented care 

plans developed with the patient and 

primary health care team through 

shared decision making. 

• Integrated care: Integrated care 

expands the health team by bringing 

primary health care together with 

behavioral health (mental health and 

substance use disorder services), oral 

health, public health, and social and 

other services and partnerships to 

optimize access, coordination of care, 

and health outcomes. 

• Interprofessional teams: Integrated 

care requires the expertise of 

interprofessional teams and their 

coordination of care. Interprofessional 

team composition is not predetermined 

or fixed, instead personalized to meet 

the needs of the individual and family 

served. 

• Community participation, selfreliance, and resilience: Primary health 

care practices can support communities’ 

capacities to achieve self-reliance and 

resilience by working as a member of 

the community to strengthen the health 

and wellness of individuals, families, 

and the communities in which they live. 

Information Requested: Respondents 

may provide information for one or as 

many topics below as they choose. 

OASH welcomes information about 

innovations, models, solutions to 

barriers, and possible HHS actions that 

may strengthen primary health care to 

promote health equity, reduce health 

disparities, improve health care access, 

and improve health outcomes. 

Strengthening primary health care 

requires the coordination of many 

partners. Recommendations for 

collaboration across HHS and between 

HHS and other federal departments are 

welcome. 

1. Successful models or innovations 

that help achieve the goal state for 

primary health care, defined above: 

Describe models or example innovations 

that are advancing the health of 

individuals and communities through 

strengthened primary health care, 

summarize evidence demonstrating 

impact, and provide resources, as 

appropriate. OASH is interested in 

action steps that will produce 

sustainable change, in addition to pilot 

programs. Share implementation 

approaches and lessons learned. Your 

response may address but need not be 

limited to: examples of new payment 

models; actions that support the 

integration of primary health care with 

other elements of the health care 

systems (e.g., specialty care including 

behavioral health care, oral health, 

hospitals, health systems); actions that 

support integration of primary health 

care with prevention specialists (e.g., 

Drug-Free Communities Coalitions, 

Community Health Workers, Peer 

Support Specialists) in work to reduce 

risk factors and increase protective 

factors associated with substance use 

and mental conditions; primary health 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
38170 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2022 / Notices 

care integration with other clinical 

services and public health; primary 

health care integration with communitybased organizations to provide social 

services to patients; interprofessional 

education strategies; expanded and 

effective use of health information 

technology (IT); strategies to expand 

primary health care research and its 

impact; and measures of primary health 

care spending, access, quality, and 

impact. 

2. Barriers to implementing successful 

models or innovations: Describe current 

barriers to implementing innovations or 

improvements that would strengthen 

primary health care, to improve the 

health of individuals, families and 

communities. Also, consider barriers to 

advancing primary health care research, 

as well as barriers to inclusive services 

and those targeting youth. For each 

barrier, you may provide evidencebased or proposed solutions. 

3. Successful strategies to engage 

communities: Describe models, 

approaches or frameworks that HHS 

could use to obtain ongoing input from 

individuals, caregivers, and 

communities on HHS actions to 

strengthen primary health care and their 

implementation (i.e., community 

engagement strategies), acknowledging 

the different approaches necessary to 

obtain perspectives from youth and 

adults. Populations of focus are those 

traditionally underserved by health 

care, such as Black, Latino, and 

Indigenous and Native American 

persons, Asian Americans and Pacific 

Islanders and other persons of color; 

members of religious minorities; 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with 

disabilities; persons who live in rural 

areas; and persons otherwise adversely 

affected by persistent poverty or 

inequality. Additional populations of 

interest are people experiencing 

homelessness; non-US-born persons; 

individuals experiencing gender-based 

violence; individuals with chronic 

illness; older adults and people with 

disabilities; individuals with mental 

and substance use disorders; and people 

who have had interactions with the 

criminal justice system. Share 

implementation approaches for 

community engagement strategies and 

lessons learned. 

4. Proposed HHS actions: Identify 

specific actions that HHS may take to 

advance the health of individuals, 

families, and communities through 

strengthened primary health care. 

Examples include, but are not limited 

to: steps to implement and scale new 

payment models and reimbursement 

approaches, including revising the 

Physician Fee Schedule, Relative Value 

Units, and Current Procedural 

Terminology codes and advancing 

value-based care; increasing payer and 

national investment in primary health 

care and measuring/monitoring 

spending on primary care; support for 

service integration, including 

integration of primary health care and 

public health; and enabling care for 

complex needs by integrating 

behavioral, oral, and primary health 

care and integrating access to social 

services and primary health care 

through partnerships; support for 

primary health care workforce wellbeing; policy and programmatic 

proposals for health workforce programs 

to address workforce shortages, 

geographic maldistribution and to 

improve workforce diversity; support 

for primary health care workforce 

education and training; 

interprofessional education; new 

technical assistance needed; advancing 

the use of certified health IT and 

interoperability of electronic health 

information across the care continuum; 

primary health care research 

infrastructure and investment; and 

measurement and stewardship of 

primary health care. Specify what 

barrier the opportunity addresses, and 

the realistic timing for implementation: 

less than two years, two to five years, 

and six to 10 years. 

Dated: June 15, 2022. 

Judith Steinberg, 

Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Health, Department of Health 

and Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13632 Filed 6–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–28–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Eye Institute; Notice of Closed 

Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) 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 Eye Institute 

Special Emphasis Panel; NEI Pathway to 

Independence Award Application (K99). 

Date: July 26, 2022. 

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Eye Institute, National 

Institutes of Health, 6000B Rockledge Drive, 

Suite 3400, Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual 

Meeting). 

Contact Person: Jennifer C. Schiltz, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Branch, Division of Extramural Activities, 

National Eye Institute, National Institutes of 

Health, 6000B Rockledge Drive, Suite 3400, 

Bethesda, MD 20892, (240) 451–2020, 

jennifer.schiltz@nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.867, Vision Research, 

National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: June 22, 2022. 

Victoria E. Townsend, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13640 Filed 6–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Eye Institute; Notice of Closed 

Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) 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 Eye Institute 

Special Emphasis Panel; NEI Mentored 

Clinician Scientist Grant Applications (K08, 

K23) and Conference Grants (R13). 

Date: July 19, 2022. 

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Eye Institute, National 

Institutes of Health, 6700B Rockledge Drive, 

Suite 3400, Rockville, MD 20892 (Virtual 

Meeting). 

Contact Person: Brian Hoshaw, Ph.D., 

Chief, Scientific Review Branch, Division of 

Extramural Research, National Eye Institute, 

National Institutes of Health, 6700B 


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