Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Notices 11101

sciences, statistics, and other related

professions. The nature of specialized

training and experience necessary to

qualify the nominee as an expert

suitable for appointment may include

experience in medical practice,

teaching, and/or research relevant to the

field of activity of the panel. The

particular needs at this time for each

panel are shown above. The term of

office is up to 4 years, depending on the

appointment date.

National Mammography Quality

Assurance Advisory Committee

Persons nominated for membership

should be physicians, practitioners, and

other health professionals, whose

clinical practices, research

specializations, or professional expertise

include a significant focus on

mammography. Prior experience on

Federal public advisory committees in

the same or similar subject areas will

also be considered relevant professional

expertise. The particular needs for this

committee are shown above. The term of

office is up to 4 years, depending on the

appointment date.

Nomination Procedures

Any interested person may nominate

one or more qualified persons for

membership on one or more of the

advisory panels or the National

Mammography Quality Assurance

Advisory Committee. Self-nominations

are also accepted. Nominations shall

include a complete curriculum vitae of

each nominee, current business address

and telephone number, and shall state

that the nominee is aware of the

nomination, is willing to serve as a

member, and appears to have no conflict

of interest that would preclude

membership. FDA will ask the potential

candidates to provide detailed

information concerning such matters as

financial holdings, employment, and

research grants and/or contracts to

permit evaluation of possible sources of

conflict of interest.

This notice is issued under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

U.S.C. app. 2) and 21 CFR part 14,

relating to advisory committees.

Dated: February 21, 1995.

Linda A. Suydam,

Interim Deputy Commissioner for Operations.

[FR Doc. 95–4910 Filed 2–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–01–F

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Program Announcement for Contracts

for the Disadvantaged Health

Professions Faculty Loan Repayment

Program for Fiscal Year 1995

The Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) announces that

applications for contracts for fiscal year

(FY) 1995, for the Disadvantaged Health

Professions Faculty Loan Repayment

Program (FLRP) are now being accepted

under section 738(a) of the Public

Health Service Act (The Act).

In FY 1995, approximately $823,000

is available for competing applications

for the Disadvantaged Health

Professions Faculty Loan Repayment

Program. It is expected that 30 contracts

averaging $27,433 ($13,717 per year for

two years) will be supported with these

funds.

Previous Funding Experience

Previous funding experience

information is provided to assist

potential applicants to make better

informed decisions regarding

submission of an application for this

program. In fiscal years 1991, 1992,

1993 and 1994, HRSA entered into a

total of 129 contracts under this

program, averaging $25,030 ($12,515 per

year for 2 years).

Purpose

The purpose of the Disadvantaged

Health Professions Faculty Loan

Repayment Program (FLRP) is to attract

disadvantaged health professions

faculty members for accredited health

professions schools. The program

provides a financial incentive for

degree-trained health professions

personnel from disadvantaged

backgrounds who will serve as members

of the faculties of those schools. The

FLRP is directed at those individuals

available to serve immediately or within

a short time as ‘‘new’’ full-time faculty

members. Loan repayment may be

provided only for an individual who has

not been a member of the faculty of any

school at any time during the 18-month

period preceding the date on which the

Secretary receives the request of the

individual for a repayment contract (i.e.,

‘‘new’’ faculty).

Section 738(b) makes available grants

and contracts with schools of medicine,

osteopathic medicine, dentistry,

veterinary medicine, optometry,

podiatric medicine, pharmacy, public

health, health administration, clinical

psychology and other public or private

nonprofit health or educational entities

to assist in increasing the number of

underrepresented minority faculty.

Section 738(b) will be implemented as

a separate program.

Eligible Individuals

Individuals from disadvantaged

backgrounds are eligible to compete for

participation in the FLRP if they:

1. Have degrees in medicine,

osteopathic medicine, dentistry,

nursing, pharmacy, podiatric medicine,

optometry, veterinary medicine, public

health or clinical psychology; or

2. Are enrolled in an approved

graduate training program in one of the

health professions listed above; or

3. Are enrolled as full-time students

in the final year of health professions

training, leading to a degree from an

eligible school.

Established faculty members are not

eligible to apply for funds under the

FLRP. Only individuals that have not

taught in the last 18 (eighteen) months

prior to application to the program will

be considered.

Statutory Requirements

Prior to submitting an application for

a contract for loan repayment,

individuals must sign a contract with an

eligible school, as prescribed by the

Secretary, setting forth the terms and

conditions of the FLRP. This contract

with the school must require the

individual to serve as a full-time

member of the faculty, as determined by

the school, for not less than 2 years,

whereby the school agrees to pay, for

each year, a sum (in addition to faculty

salary) equal to that paid by the

Secretary towards the repayment of

principal due on the applicant’s health

professions educational loans.

Additionally, the individual involved

may not have been a member of the

faculty of any school at any time during

the last 18 months prior to application

to the program.

Eligible Schools

Eligible schools are public or

nonprofit private accredited schools of

medicine, nursing, as defined in section

853 of the Act, osteopathic medicine,

dentistry, pharmacy, podiatric

medicine, optometry, veterinary

medicine or public health, or schools

that offer graduate programs in clinical

psychology and which are located in

States as provided in section 799 of the

Act.

Provisions of the Loan Repayment

Program

Section 738(a) authorizes repayment,

for any year for which repayments are

made, not to exceed 20 percent of the

outstanding principal and interest on
11102 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Notices

the individual’s educational loans. Of

the repayment, the Secretary pays half,

up to $20,000. The school pays an equal

amount, unless the Secretary determines

that the repayment will impose an

undue financial hardship on the school

in which case,the Secretary may pay up

to the entire 20 percent.

The school is required, for each such

year, to make payments of principal and

interest in an amount equal to the

amount of payment made by the

Secretary for that year. These payments

must be in addition to the faculty salary

the participant otherwise would receive.

Allowable educational loan

repayment expenses include the

following:

1. Tuition expenses;

2. All other reasonable educational

expenses such as fees, books, supplies,

educational equipment and materials

required by the school, and incurred by

the applicant;

3. Reasonable living expenses, as

determined by the Secretary; and

4. Partial payments of the increased

Federal income tax liability caused by

the FLRP’s payments and considered to

be ‘‘other income,’’ if the recipient

requests such assistance.

Prior to entering into a contract for

repayment of loans, the Secretary

requires satisfactory evidence of the

existence and reasonableness of the

individual’s educational loans,

including a copy of the original written

loan agreement establishing the

outstanding educational loan.

Waiver Provision

In the event of undue financial

hardship to a school, the school may

obtain from the Secretary a waiver of its

share of payments while the participant

is serving under the terms of the

contract. For purposes of this program,

‘‘undue financial hardship’’, as seen by

the Secretary, is based on a school’s

particular financial status as influenced

by such circumstances as budget

cutbacks. Decisions will be made on a

case-by-case basis, and must be

supported by the school’s

documentation of comparative yearly

financial allocation of funds; or the most

current certified public accounting

audit, including the Balance Sheet and

Statement of Income and Expenses for

the past several years.

If the Secretary waives the school’s

payment requirement, the amount of the

Federal loan repayment may be up to

the full 20 percent described above

(regardless of the ‘‘equal amount’’

provision described above), but cannot

exceed the $20,000 repayment limit.

The participant must pay that portion of

loan payment due which is not covered.

The following Definitions, Program

Requirements, Review Criteria and

Funding Preference were established in

FY 1991 after public comment dated

October 2, 1991, at 56 FR 49896, and the

Secretary is extending them in FY 1995.

Definitions

For purposes of the FLRP in FY 1995,

an ‘‘Individual from a Disadvantaged

Background’’ is defined as in 42 CFR

57.1804, as one who:

1. Comes from an environment that

has inhibited the individual from

obtaining the knowledge, skill, and

abilities required to enroll in and

graduate from a health professions

school, or from a program providing

education or training in an allied health

profession; or

2. Comes from a family with an

annual income below a level based on

low income thresholds according to a

family size published by the U.S.

Bureau of the Census, adjusted annually

for changes in the Consumer Price

Index, and adjusted by the Secretary for

use in health professions and nursing

programs. The Secretary will

periodically publish these income levels

in the Federal Register. The following

income figures determine what

constitutes a low income family for

purposes of the Faculty Loan

Repayment Program for FY 1995.

Size of parents’ family 1 Income

level 2

1 ...................................................... $9,700

2 ...................................................... 12,600

3 ...................................................... 15,000

4 ...................................................... 19,200

5 ...................................................... 22,600

6 or more ........................................ 25,400

1 Includes only dependents listed on Federal

income tax forms. 2Adjusted gross income for calendar year

1993 rounded to $100.

The term ‘‘Living expenses’’ means

the costs of room and board,

transportation and commuting costs,

and other costs incurred during an

individual’s attendance at a health

professions school, as estimated each

year by the school as part of the school’s

standard student budget. (National

Health Service Corps Loan Repayment

Program, 42 CFR part 62.22)

The term ‘‘Reasonable educational

expenses and living expenses’’ means

the costs of those educational and living

expenses which are equal to or less than

the sum of the school’s estimated

standard student budgets for

educational and living expenses for the

degree program and for the year(s)

during which the Program participant

is/was enrolled in the school. (National

Health Service Corps Loan Repayment

Program, 42 CFR part 62.22)

The term ‘‘Unserved Obligation

Penalty’’ means the amount equal to the

number of months of obligated service

that were not completed by an

individual, multiplied by $1,000, except

that in any case in which the individual

fails to serve 1 year, the unserved

obligation penalty shall be equal to the

full period of obligated service

multiplied by $1,000. (Section 338E of

the Act) See ‘‘Breach of Contract’’

section below.

Program Requirements

The following requirements will be

applied to the applicant and to the

school.

The Applicant

The applicant will be required to do

the following:

1. Submit a completed application,

including the applicant’s contract with

an eligible school to serve as a full-time

faculty member for not less than 2 years;

2. Provide evidence that the applicant

has completely satisfied any other

obligation for health professional

service which is owed under an

agreement with the Federal

Government, State Government, or other

entity prior to beginning the period of

service under this program;

3. Certify that the United States does

not hold a judgment against the

applicant; and

4. Provide documentation to evidence

the educational loans and to verify their

status.

The School

The school will be required to do the

following:

1. Enter into a contractual agreement

with the applicant whereby the school

is required, for each year for which the

participant serves as a faculty member,

to make payments of principal and

interest in an amount equal to the

amount of such quarterly payments

made by the Secretary. These payments

must be in addition to the faculty salary

the participant otherwise would receive.

2. Verify the participant’s continuous

employment at intervals as prescribed

by the Secretary.

The Secretary will pay participants in

equal quarterly payments during the

period of service.

Effective Date of Contract

After an applicant has been approved

for participation in the FLRP, the

Director, Division of Disadvantaged

Assistance (DDA), will send the

applicant a contract with the Secretary.

The effective date is either the date
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Notices 11103

work begins at the school as a faculty

member or the date the Director, DDA,

signs the FLRP contract, whichever is

later. Service should begin no later than

September 30, 1995.

Breach of Contract

The following areas under Breach of

Contract are addressed in the appended

contract:

1. If the participant fails to serve his

or her period of obligated faculty service

(minimum of 2 years) as contracted with

the school, he/she is then in breach of

contract, and neither the Secretary nor

the school is obligated to continue loan

repayments as stated in the contract.

The participant must then reimburse the

Secretary and the participating school

for all sums of principal and interest

paid on his/her behalf as stated in the

contract in addition to any income tax

assistance he/she may have received.

2. Regardless of the length of the

agreed period of obligated service (2, 3,

or more years), a participant who serves

less than the time period specified in

his/her contract is liable for monetary

damages to the United States amounting

to the sum of the total of the amounts

the Program paid him/her, plus an

‘‘unserved obligation penalty’’ of $1,000

for each month unserved.

3. Any amount which the United

States is entitled to recover because of

a breach of the FLRP contract must be

paid within 1 year from the day the

Secretary determines that the

participant is in breach of contract. If

payment is not received by the payment

date, additional interest, penalties and

administrative charges will be assessed

in accordance with Federal Law (45 CFR

30.13).

Review Criteria

The HRSA will review fiscal year

1995 applications taking into

consideration the following criteria:

1. The extent to which the applicant

meets the requirements of section 738 of

the Act;

2. The completeness, accuracy, and

validity of the applicant’s responses to

application requirements;

3. The submission of the signed

contract with the school;

4. An applicant’s earliest available

date to begin service as a faculty

member provided funding is available

for that year; and

5. An applicant’s availability to enter

into a service contract for a longer

period than the mandatory 2-year

minimum.

Factors to assure equitable

distribution (e.g. geographic, discipline)

will be considered in determining the

funding of completed applications.

National Health Objectives for the Year

2000

The Public Health Service (PHS) is

committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention

objectives of Healthy People 2000, a

PHS-led national activity for setting

priority areas. The Disadvantaged

Health Professions Faculty Loan

Repayment Program is related to the

priority area of Educational and

Community-Based Programs. Potential

applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy

People 2000 (Full Report; Stock No.

017–001–00474–0) or Healthy People

2000 (Summary Report; Stock No. 017–

001–00473–1) through the

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402–9325

(Telephone (202) 783–3238).

Education and Service Linkage

As part of its long-range planning,

HRSA will be targeting its efforts to

strengthening linkages between U.S.

Public Health Service education

programs and programs which provide

comprehensive primary care services to

the underserved.

Smoke-Free Workplace

The Public Health Service strongly

encourages all grant recipients to

provide a smoke-free workplace and

promote the nonuse of all tobacco

products, and Public Law 103–227, the

Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits

smoking in certain education, library,

day care, health care, and early

childhood development services are

provided to children.

Application Requests

Requests for application materials and

questions regarding program

information and business should be

directed to: Lafayette Gilchrist, Division

of Disadvantaged Assistance, Bureau of

Health Professions, Health Resources

and Services Administration, 5600

Fishers Lane, Room 8A–09, Rockville,

Maryland 20857, Telephone: (301) 443–

3680 FAX: (301) 443–5242.

Completed applications should be

returned to the address listed above.

The application deadline date is June

30, 1995. Applications shall be

considered to be ‘‘on time’’ if they are

either:

(1) Received on or before the

established deadline date, or

(2) Sent on or before the established

deadline date and received in time for

orderly processing. (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 shall not be acceptable as

proof of timely mailing.)

Late applications not accepted for

processing will be returned to the

applicant.

The application form and instructions

for this program have been approved by

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction

Act. The OMB clearance number is

0915–0150.

The Disadvantaged Health Professions

Faculty Loan Repayment Program is

listed at 93.923 in the Catalog of Federal

Domestic Assistance. It is not subject to

the provisions of Executive Order

12372, Intergovernmental Review of

Federal Programs (as implemented

through 45 CFR part 100).

This program is not subject to the

Public Health System Reporting

Requirements.

Dated: February 23, 1995.

Ciro V. Sumaya,

Administrator.

Contract for the Disadvantaged Health

Professions Faculty Loan Repayment

Program With U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services—Public Health Service;

Health Resources and Services

Administration; Bureau of Health

Professions

Section 738 of the Public Health Service

Act (‘‘Act’’) [42 United States Code 293 et

seq.], as added by Pub. L. 102–408,

authorizes the Secretary of Health and

Human Services (‘‘Secretary’’) to repay the

educational loans of applicants from

disadvantaged backgrounds selected to be

participants in the Loan Repayment Program

Regarding Service on Faculties of Certain

Health Professions Schools (‘‘Faculty Loan

Repayment Program’’). In return for these

loan repayments, applicants must agree to

provide teaching faculty services at an

approved accredited health professions

school determined by the Secretary for a

designated period of obligated service

pursuant to section 738 of the Act.

Section 738(a)(5)&(7) of the Act require

applicants to submit with their applications

a signed contract with an accredited health

professions school and a signed contract

which states the terms and conditions of

participation in the Faculty Loan Repayment

Program. The Secretary shall sign only those

contracts submitted by applicants who are

selected for participation.

The terms and conditions of participating

in the Faculty Loan Repayment Program are

set forth below:

Section A—Obligations of the Secretary

Subject to the availability of funds

appropriated by the Congress of the United

States for the Faculty Loan Repayment

Program, the Secretary agrees to:

1. Pay, in the amount provided in

paragraph 2 of this section, the undersigned

applicant’s qualifying educational loans.

Qualifying educational loans consist of the

principal and interest on educational loans
11104 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 1, 1995 / Notices

received by the applicant for the following

expenses of enrollment:

a. tuition expenses;

b. all other reasonable educational

expenses such as fees, books, supplies,

educational equipment and materials

required by the school, and incurred by the

applicant; or

c. reasonable living expenses as

determined by the Secretary.

2. If the applicant agrees to serve 2 or more

years:

a. Except as provided in subparagraph b. of

this paragraph, pay up to $20,000 of the

outstanding principal and interest of a

participant’s non delinquent educational

loans, but not more than half of the 20

percent of the qualified outstanding

educational loans for such year for each year

of eligible faculty service; or

b. The Secretary’s liability will not exceed

a cap of $20,000 of principal and interest

annually. This would include the 10 percent

waived under Sec. 738(a) of the Act for the

School’s proportionate share of the loan

repayment amounts. The applicant must pay

that portion not covered.

3. Make loan repayments for a year of

obligated service no later than the end of the

fiscal year in which the applicant completes

such year of service.

4. The effective date of the Contract will be

the date it is signed by the Director, Division

of Disadvantaged Assistance or the date

employment begins as a faculty member of

the contracting school whichever is later.

Section B—Obligations of the Participant

1. The applicant agrees to:

a. Continue loan repayments to lenders for

the first quarter after which the Secretary will

make delayed quarterly payments to

applicant for the years stated in paragraph c

of this section. Applicant must pay lender(s)

these payments.

b. Serve his or her period of obligated

faculty service as contracted with the school

and as determined by the Secretary to be

acceptable.

e. Serve in accordance with paragraph b. of

this section for lll years at

llllllllll. The applicant must

serve a minimum of two years.

2. If the applicant’s eligibility to participate

in the Faculty Loan Repayment Program is

based on section 738(a)(2) of the Act (i.e.

based on his or her enrollment in an

accredited health professions school), he or

she also agrees to:

a. Maintain full-time enrollment, (as

determined by the School), in good academic

standing as determined by the School, in the

final year of the course of study leading to

a degree in medicine, osteopathic medicine,

dentistry, pharmacy, podiatric medicine,

optometry, veterinary medicine, nursing, or

public health, or schools offering graduate

programs in clinical psychology in which the

applicant is currently enrolled, until

completion of such course of study;

b. Enter into a contract with an accredited

school described in subsection (a) of Section

738 to serve as a ‘‘new’’ member of the

faculty of the school for not less than 2 years

according to the requirements described in

subsection (a)(5) of section 738.

c. Begin service obligation as contracted.

Section C—Breach of Written Loan

Repayment Contract

1. If the participant fails to comply with

section B.1.c. of this contract or is dismissed

for disciplinary reasons or voluntarily

terminates the contracts, neither the

Secretary nor the School is obligated to

continue loan repayments as stated in Sec. A

of this Contract. The participant shall be

liable to the United States and the School for

the amounts specified in paragraph 2 of this

section.

2. If the applicant agrees to serve as a fulltime faculty member for two years or more

and fails to serve the 2-year minimum

requirement, he or she is liable to pay

monetary damages to the United States

amounting to the sum of (a) the total amounts

specified in Section A.2 of this contract plus

(b) an ‘‘unserved obligation penalty’’ of

$1,000 for each month unserved as set forth

in paragraph 3 of this section plus (c) any tax

assistance paid plus (d) interest, penalties

and administrative charges for past due

payments.

3. The ‘‘Unserved Obligation Penalty’’

means the amount equal to the number of

months of obligated service that were not

completed by an individual, multiplied by

$1,000 except that in any case in which the

individual fails to serve 1 year, the unserved

obligated penalty shall be equal to the full

period of obligated service multiplied by

$1,000.

4. It the applicant agrees to serve more than

the 2-year minimum service obligation and

has completed the 2-year minimum he or she

will be liable for such sums paid for any

months that are not a full year beyond the 2-

year minimum requirement as agreed to in

Section B.1.c of this contract, plus an

‘‘unserved obligation penalty’’ of $1,000 for

each month unserved.

5. Any amount the United States is entitled

to recover shall be paid within one year of

the date the Secretary determines that the

applicant is in breach of this written contract.

Failure to pay by the due date will incur

delinquent charges provided by Federal Law.

(45 CFR 30.13).

Section D—Cancellation, Suspension, and

Waiver of Obligation

Any service or payment obligation may be

canceled, suspended, or waived under

certain circumstances described below: (1) In

the event of death or permanent and total

disability, the Secretary will cancel

obligations under this contract. To receive

cancellation in the event of death, the

executor of the estate must submit an official

death certificate to the Secretary. To receive

cancellation for permanent and total

disability, applicant or his/her representative

must apply to the Secretary, submitting

medical evidence of my condition, and the

Secretary may cancel this obligation in

accordance with applicable Federal statutes

and regulations; (2) Upon receipt of

supporting documentation the Secretary may

waive or suspend service or payment

obligation under this contract if the Secretary

determines that: (a) meeting the terms and

conditions of the contract is impossible or

would involve extreme hardship; and (b)

enforcement of the obligations would be

unconscionable. (3) Deferment will be

granted in the event of long term illness.

Supporting documentation should be sent to:

Division of Disadvantaged Assistance, Room

8A–09 Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

The Secretary or his/her authorized

representative must sign this contract before

it becomes effective.

lllllllllllllllllllll

Applicant Name (Please Print)

lllllllllllllllllllll

Applicant Signature * Date

lllllllllllllllllllll

Secretary of Health and Human Services or

Designee

lllllllllllllllllllll

Date

*Before signing, be sure you have

completed section B.1.c. on page 1 of this

contract indicating the number of years of

service you agree to perform.

[FR Doc. 95–4964 Filed 2–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

National Practitioner Data Bank:

Change in User Fee

The Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA), Public Health

Service (PHS), Department of Health

and Human Services (DHHS), is

announcing a change in the fee that is

charged entities authorized to request

information from the National

Practitioner Data Bank (Data Bank).

The current user fee of $6.00 for

queries submitted by diskette or

telecommunications network, with a

$4.00 surcharge added for queries

submitted on paper, has been in effect

since July 1, 1993. Those fees were

announced in the Federal Register on

June 1, 1993 (58 FR 31215). A

subsequent change in the fee structure

was announced in the Federal Register

on July 14, 1994 (59 FR 35936), at which

time a $1.00 discount from the $6.00 fee

was offered for queries who would

submit their queries over the

telecommunications network and who

would pay by credit card. That

announcement also indicated that the

fee charged for authorized queries for

information concerning an individual

physician, dentist, or other health care

practitioner would be reviewed

periodically and revised as necessary,

based upon experience. Any further

changes in the fee, and the effective date

of the change, would be announced in

the Federal Register.

The Data Bank is authorized by the

Health Care Quality Improvement Act of

1986 (the Act), title IV of Public Law

99–660, as amended (42 U.S.C. 11101 et

seq.). Section 427(b)(4) of the Act

authorizes the establishment of fees for