4592 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 17 / Friday, January 25, 2008 / Notices 

adoption should not necessarily 

preclude the other components such as 

population management systems. 

Comments also raised the issue that 

HIT is far from reality for most of the 

safety net providers. Because of lack of 

resources, HIT is not a priority. Many 

safety net providers are struggling with 

outdated practice management systems 

that need constant repair and with 

scarce resources available to maintain 

them. It was suggested that HRSA 

provide access to resources or 

approaches that can support 

sustainability of some level for SafetyNet Provider Networks. 

Response: HRSA appreciates that 

there are other HIT solutions in addition 

to EHRs and included many of these 

comments as part of its funding 

opportunities. In addition, HRSA 

believes funding for HIT adoption and 

sustainability must come from a variety 

of funding sources. 

IX. Paperwork Reduction Act 

Should any of the HIT initiatives 

involve the collection of information 

applicable to requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

agency will request OMB review and 

approval. 

Dated: January 16, 2008. 

Elizabeth M. Duke, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–1301 Filed 1–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Indian Health Service 

Loan Repayment Program for 

Repayment of Health Professions 

Educational Loans 

Announcement Type: Initial. 

CFDA Number: 93.164. 

Key Dates: January 18, 2008 first 

award cycle deadline date, September 

30, 2008 entry on duty deadline date. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

The Indian Health Service (IHS) 

estimated budget request for Fiscal Year 

(FY) 2008 includes $11,581,766 for the 

Indian Health Service (IHS) Loan 

Repayment Program (LRP) for health 

professional educational loans 

(undergraduate and graduate) in return 

for full-time clinical service in Indian 

health programs. 

This program announcement is 

subject to the appropriation of funds. 

This notice is being published early to 

coincide with the recruitment activity of 

the IHS, which competes with other 

Government and private health 

management organizations to employ 

qualified health professionals. 

This program is authorized by Section 

108 of the Indian Health Care 

Improvement Act (IHCIA) as amended, 

25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. The IHS invites 

potential applicants to request an 

application for participation in the LRP. 

II. Award Information 

The estimated funds available is 

approximately $11,581,766 to support 

approximately 258 competing awards 

averaging $44,740 per award for a two 

year contract. One year contract 

continuations will receive priority 

consideration in any award cycle. 

Applicants selected for participation in 

the FY 2008 program cycle will be 

expected to begin their service period 

no later than September 30, 2008. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants 

Pursuant to Section 108(b), to be 

eligible to participate in the LRP, an 

individual must: 

(1) (A) Be enrolled—

(i) In a course of study or program in 

an accredited institution, as determined 

by the Secretary, within any State and 

be scheduled to complete such course of 

study in the same year such individual 

applies to participate in such program; 

or 

(ii) In an approved graduate training 

program in a health profession; or 

(B) Have a degree in a health 

profession and a license to practice in 

a state; and 

(2) (A) Be eligible for, or hold an 

appointment as a Commissioned Officer 

in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the 

Public Health Service (PHS); or 

(B) Be eligible for selection for service 

in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the 

(PHS); or 

(C) Meet the professional standards 

for civil service employment in the IHS; 

or 

(D) Be employed in an Indian health 

program without service obligation; and 

(E) Submit to the Secretary an 

application for a contract to the LRP. 

The Secretary must approve the contract 

before the disbursement of loan 

repayments can be made to the 

participant. Participants will be 

required to fulfill their contract service 

agreements through fulltime clinical 

practice at an Indian health program site 

determined by the Secretary. Loan 

repayment sites are characterized by 

physical, cultural, and professional 

isolation, and have histories of frequent 

staff turnover. All Indian health 

program sites are annually prioritized 

within the Agency by discipline, based 

on need or vacancy. 

Section 108 of the IHCIA, as amended 

by Public Laws 100–713 and 102–573, 

authorizes the IHS LRP and provides in 

pertinent part as follows: 

(a)(1) The Secretary, acting through the 

Service, shall establish a program to be 

known as the Indian Health Service Loan 

Repayment Program (hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘Loan Repayment Program’’) in order 

to assure an adequate supply of trained 

health professionals necessary to maintain 

accreditation of, and provide health care 

services to Indians through, Indian health 

programs. 

Section 4(n) of the IHCIA, as amended 

by the Indian Health Care Improvement 

Technical Corrections Act of 1996, 

Public Law 104–313, provides that: 

‘‘Health Profession’’ means allopathic 

medicine, family medicine, internal 

medicine, pediatrics, geriatric medicine, 

obstetrics and gynecology, podiatric 

medicine, nursing, public health nursing, 

dentistry, psychiatry, osteopathy, optometry, 

pharmacy, psychology, public health, social 

work, marriage and family therapy, 

chiropractic medicine, environmental health 

and engineering, and allied health 

profession, or any other health profession. 

For the purposes of this program, the 

term ‘‘Indian health program’’ is defined 

in Section 108(a)(2)(A), as follows: 

(A) The term ‘‘Indian health program’’

means any health program or facility 

funded, in whole or in part, by the 

Service for the benefit of Indians and 

administered—

(i) Directly by the Service; 

(ii) By any Indian Tribe or Tribal or 

Indian organization pursuant to a 

contract under—

(I) The Indian Self-Determination Act, 

or 

(II) Section 23 of the Act of April 30, 

1908, (25 U.S.C. 47), popularly known 

as the Buy Indian Act; or 

(iii) By an urban Indian organization 

to Title V of this act.’’ Section 108 of the 

IHCIA, as amended by Public Laws 100–

713 and 102–573, authorizes the IHS to 

determine specific health professions 

for which Indian Health LRP contracts 

will be awarded. The list of priority 

health professions that follows is based 

upon the needs of the IHS as well as 

upon the needs of American Indians 

and Alaska Natives. 

(a) Medicine: Allopathic and 

Osteopathic. 

(b) Nurse: Associate and B.S. Degree. 

(c) Clinical Psychology: Ph.D. only. 

(d) Social Work: Masters level only. 

(e) Chemical Dependency Counseling: 

Baccalaureate and Masters level. 

(f) Dentistry. 

(g) Dental Hygiene. 

(h) Pharmacy: B.S., Pharm.D. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 17 / Friday, January 25, 2008 / Notices 4593 

(i) Optometry. 

(j) Physician Assistant. 

(k) Advanced Practice Nurses: Nurse 

Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife, 

Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Priority 

consideration will be given to 

Registered Nurse Anesthetists.). 

(l) Podiatry: D.P.M. 

(m) Physical Rehabilitation Services: 

Physician Therapy, Occupational 

Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, 

and Audiology: M.S. and D.P.T. 

(n) Diagnostic Radiology Technology: 

Certificate, Associate, and B.S. 

(o) Medical Technology: B.S., and 

Associate. 

(p) Public Health Nutritionist/ 

Registered Dietitian. 

(q) Engineering (Environmental): B.S. 

(Engineers must provide environmental 

engineering services to be eligible.). 

(r) Environmental Health (Sanitarian): 

B.S. 

(s) Health Records: R.H.I.T. and 

R.H.I.A. 

(t) Respiratory Therapy. 

(u) Ultrasonography. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching 

Not applicable. 

Other Requirements 

Interested individuals are reminded 

that the list of eligible health and allied 

health professions is effective for 

applicants for FY 2008. These priorities 

will remain in effect until superseded. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package 

Application materials may be 

obtained by calling or writing to the 

address below. In addition, completed 

applications should be returned to: IHS 

Loan Repayment Program, 801 

Thompson Avenue, Suite 120, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852, PH: 301/ 

443–3396 [between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

(EST) Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays]. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

Applications must be submitted on 

the form entitled ‘‘Application for the 

Indian Health Service Loan Repayment 

Program,’’ identified with the Office of 

Management and Budget approval 

number of OMB #0917–0014 (expires 

12/31/08). 

3. Submission Dates and Times 

Completed applications may be 

submitted to the IHS Loan Repayment 

Program, 801 Thompson Avenue, Suite 

120, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

Applications for the FY 2008 LRP will 

be accepted and evaluated monthly 

beginning January 18, 2008, and will 

continue to be accepted each month 

thereafter until all funds are exhausted 

for FY 2008. Subsequent monthly 

deadline dates are scheduled for Friday 

of the second full week of each month. 

Applications shall be considered as 

meeting the deadline if they are either: 

(a) Received on or before the deadline 

date; or 

(b) Sent on or before the deadline 

date. (Applicants should request a 

legibly dated U.S. Postal Service 

postmark or obtain a legibly dated 

receipt from a commercial carrier or 

U.S. Postal Service. Private metered 

postmarks are not acceptable as proof of 

timely mailing.) 

Applications received after the 

monthly closing date will be held for 

consideration in the next monthly 

funding cycle. Applicants who do not 

receive funding by September 30, 2008, 

will be notified in writing. 

4. Intergovernmental Review 

This program is not subject to review 

under Executive Order 12372. 

5. Funding Restrictions 

Not applicable. 

6. Other Submission Requirements 

All applicants must sign and submit 

to the Secretary, a written contract 

agreeing to accept repayment of 

educational loans and to serve for the 

applicable period of obligated service in 

a priority site as determined by the 

Secretary, and submit a signed affidavit 

attesting to the fact that they have been 

informed of the relative merits of the 

U.S. PHS Commissioned Corps and the 

Civil Service as employment options. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria 

The IHS has identified the positions 

in each Indian health program for which 

there is a need or vacancy and ranked 

those positions in order of priority by 

developing discipline-specific 

prioritized lists of sites. Ranking criteria 

for these sites include the following: 

(a) Historically critical shortages 

caused by frequent staff turnover; 

(b) Current unmatched vacancies in a 

health profession discipline; 

(c) projected vacancies in a heath 

profession discipline; 

(d) Ensuring that the staffing needs of 

Indian health programs administered by 

an Indian Tribe or Tribal or health 

organization receive consideration on an 

equal basis with programs that are 

administered directly by the Service; 

(e) Giving priority to vacancies in 

Indian health programs that have a need 

for health professionals to provide 

health care services as a result of 

individuals having beached LRP 

contracts entered into under this 

section; 

Consistent with this priority ranking, 

in determining applications to be 

approved and contracts to accept, the 

IHS will give priority to applications 

made by American Indians and Alaska 

Natives and to individuals recruited 

through the efforts of Indian Tribes or 

Tribal or Indian organizations; 

2. Review and Selection Process 

Loan Repayment Awards will be 

made only to those individuals serving 

at facilities which have a site score of 70 

or above during the first and second 

quarters and the first month of the third 

quarter of FY 2008, if funding is 

available. 

One or all of the following factors may 

be applicable to an applicant, and the 

applicant who has the most of these 

factors, all other criteria being equal, 

will be selected. 

(a) An applicant’s length of current 

employment in the IHS, Tribal, or urban 

program. 

(b) Availability for service earlier than 

other applicants (first come, first 

served). 

(c) Date the individual’s application 

was received. 

3. Anticipated Announcement and 

Award Dates 

Not applicable. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices 

Notice of awards will be mailed on 

the last working day of each month. 

Once the applicant is approved for 

participation in the LRP, the applicant 

will receive confirmation of his/her loan 

repayment award and the duty site at 

which he/she will serve his/her loan 

repayment obligation. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

Applicants may sign contractual 

agreements with the Secretary for 2 

years. The IHS may repay all, or a 

portion of the applicant’s health 

profession educational loans 

(undergraduate and graduate) for tuition 

expenses and reasonable educational 

and living expenses in amounts up to 

$20,000 per year for each year of 

contracted service. Payments will be 

made annually to the participant for the 

purpose of repaying his/her outstanding 

health profession educational loans. 

Payment of health profession education 

loans will be made to the participant 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
4594 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 17 / Friday, January 25, 2008 / Notices 

within 120 days, from the date the 

contract becomes effective. 

In addition to the loan payment, 

participants are provided tax assistance 

payments in an amount not less than 20 

percent and not more than 39 percent of 

the participant’s total amount of loan 

repayments made for the taxable year 

involved. The loan repayments and the 

tax assistance payments are taxable 

income and will be reported to the 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The tax 

assistance payment will be paid to the 

IRS directly on the participant’s behalf. 

LRP award recipients should be aware 

that the IRS may place them in a higher 

tax bracket than they would otherwise 

have been prior to their award. 

3. Reporting 

Any individual who enters this 

program and satisfactorily completes his 

or her obligated period of service may 

apply to extend his/her contract on a 

year-by-year basis, as determined by the 

IHS. Participants extending their 

contracts may receive up to the 

maximum amount of $20,000 per year 

plus an additional 20 percent for 

Federal withholding. 

Any individual who owes an 

obligation for health professional 

service to the Federal Government, a 

State, or other entity is not eligible for 

the LRP unless the obligation will be 

completely satisfied before they begin 

service under this program. 

4. DUNS Number 

Participants are required to have a 

Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number. 

The DUNS number is a nine digit 

identification number. Obtaining a 

DUNS number is easy and there is no 

charge. To obtain a DUNS number, 

access http:// 

www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1–

866–705–5711. Interested parties may 

wish to obtain this DUNS by phone to 

expedite the process. A DUNS number 

is required before Central Contractor 

Registry (CCR) registration can be 

completed. Registration with the CCR is 

free of charge. To register, access 

http://www.ccr.gov or call 1–888–227–

2423. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

Please address inquiries to Ms. 

Jacqueline K. Santiago, Chief, IHS Loan 

Repayment Program, 801 Thompson 

Avenue, Suite 120, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, PH: 301/443–3396 [between 8 

a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST) Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays]. 

VIII. Other Information 

IHS Area Offices and Service Units 

that are financially able are authorized 

to provide additional funding to make 

awards to applicants in the LRP, but not 

to exceed $35,000 a year plus tax 

assistance. All additional funding must 

be made in accordance with the priority 

system outlined below. Health 

professions given priority for selection 

above the $20,000 threshold are those 

identified as meeting the criteria in 25 

U.S.C. 1616a(g)(2)(A) which provides 

that the Secretary shall consider the 

extent to which each such 

determination—

(i) Affects the ability of the Secretary 

to maximize the number of contracts 

that can be provided under the LRP 

from the amounts appropriated for such 

contracts; 

(ii) Provides an incentive to serve in 

Indian health programs with the greatest 

shortages of health professionals; and 

(iii) Provides an incentive with 

respect to the health professional 

involved remaining in an Indian health 

program with such a health professional 

shortage, and continuing to provide 

primary health services, after the 

completion of the period of obligated 

service under the LRP. 

Contracts may be awarded to those 

who are available for service no later 

than September 30, 2008, and must be 

in compliance with any limits in the 

appropriation and Section 108 of the 

Indian Health Care Improvement Act 

not to exceed the amount authorized in 

the IHS appropriation (up to 

$27,000,000 for FY 2008.) In order to 

ensure compliance with the statutes, 

Area Offices or Service Units providing 

additional funding under this section 

are responsible for notifying the LRP of 

such payments before funding is offered 

to the LRP participant. 

Should an IHS Area Office contribute 

to the LRP, those funds will be used for 

only those sites located in that Area. 

Those sites will retain their relative 

ranking from the national site-ranking 

list. For example, the Albuquerque Area 

Office identifies supplemental monies 

for dentists. Only the dental positions 

within the Albuquerque Area will be 

funded with the supplemental monies 

consistent with the national ranking and 

site index within that Area. 

Should an IHS Service Unit 

contribute to the LRP, those funds will 

be used for only those sites located in 

that Service Unit. Those sites will retain 

their relative ranking from the national 

site-ranking list. For example, Chinle 

Service Unit identifies supplemental 

monies for pharmacists. The Chinle 

Service Unit consists of two facilities, 

namely the Chinle Comprehensive 

Health Care Facility and the Tsaile PHS 

Indian Health Center. The national 

ranking will be used for the Chinle 

Comprehensive Health Care Facility 

(Score = 44) and the Tsaile PHS Indian 

Health Center (Score = 46). With a score 

of 46, the Tsaile PHS Indian Health 

Center would receive priority over the 

Chinle Comprehensive Health Care 

Facility. 

Dated: January 16, 2008. 

Robert G. McSwain, 

Acting Director, Indian Health Service. 

[FR Doc. 08–273 Filed 1–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–16–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; NIH-American 

Association for Retired Persons 

(AARP) Short Follow-Up Questionnaire 

2008 (NCI) 

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of 

Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the National 

Cancer Institute (NCI), the National 

Institutes of Health (NIH), has submitted 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) a request to review and approve 

the information collection listed below. 

This proposed information collection 

was previously published in the Federal 

Register on November 6, 2007 (Vol. 72, 

No. 214, p. 62660) and allowed 60-days 

for public comment. One public 

comment was received on November 6, 

2007 which questioned why AARP was 

not funding this study as opposed to 

using NIH funds. An e-mail response 

was sent on January 14, 2008 stating, 

‘‘We received your comment. We will 

take your comments into 

consideration’’. The purpose of this 

notice is to allow an additional 30 days 

for public comment. The National 

Institutes of Health may not conduct or 

sponsor, and the respondent is not 

required to respond to, an information 

collection that has been extended, 

revised, or implemented on or after 

October 1, 1995, unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Proposed Collection: Title: NIHAmerican Association for Retired 

Persons (AARP) Short Follow-Up 

Questionnaire 2008 (NCI). Type of 

Information Collection Request: New. 

Need and Use of Information Collection: 

The purpose of this short 2-page 

questionnaire is to obtain information 

on 18 different medical conditions, 

several medical procedures, and 

lifestyle characteristics from 513,225 

participants of the NIH–AARP Diet and 

Health Study. The questionnaire will 

support the ongoing examination 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES