Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 115 / Thursday, June 13, 1996 / Notices 30075

V. Removal of Approval of Oregon

State Exemption

We will remove the CLIA exemption

of laboratories located in the State of

Oregon that possess a valid license if we

determine the outcome and

comparability review of validation

inspections are not acceptable as

described under § 493.521 or if the State

fails to pay the required fee as stated

under § 493.645(a).

VI. Laboratory Data

In accordance with

§ 493.513(d)(2)(iii), Oregon State will

provide us with changes to a

laboratory’s specialties or subspecialties

based on the State’s survey and with

changes in a laboratory’s licensure

status.

VII. Required Administrative Actions

CLIA is a user-fee funded program.

The registration fee paid by the

laboratories is used to cover the cost of

the development and administration of

the program. However, when a State’s

application for exemption is approved,

we may not charge a fee to laboratories

in the State that are covered by the

exemption. The State’s share of the costs

associated with CLIA must be collected

from the State. Section 493.645 specifies

that Health and Human Services

assesses fees that a State must pay for

the following:

• Costs of Federal inspection of

laboratories in the State to verify that

standards are enforced in an appropriate

manner. The average cost per validation

survey nationally is multiplied by the

number of surveys that will be

conducted.

• Costs incurred for Federal

investigations and surveys triggered by

complaints that are substantiated. We

bill the State for these costs. We

anticipate that most of these surveys

will be referred to the State and that

there will be little Federal activity in

this area.

• The State’s proportionate share of

general overhead costs for the items and

services it benefits from and only for

those paid for out of registration or

certificate fees we collected.

In order to estimate Oregon State’s

proportionate share of the general

overhead costs, we determined the ratio

of laboratories in Oregon State to the

total number of laboratories nationally.

In that the general overhead costs apply

equally to all laboratories, we

determined the cumulative overhead

costs that should be assumed by the

State of Oregon.

The State of Oregon has agreed to pay

us its pro rata share of the overhead

costs and anticipated costs of actual

validation and complaint investigation

surveys. A final reconciliation for all

laboratories and all expenses will be

made. We will reimburse the State for

any overpayment or bill it for any

balance.

In accordance with the provisions of

Executive Order 12866, this notice was

not reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget.

Authority: Section 353 of the Public Health

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 263a).

Dated: May 13, 1996.

Bruce C. Vladeck,

Administrator, Health Care Financing

Administration.

[FR Doc. 96–14969 Filed 6–12–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Availability of Funds for the

Community Scholarship Programs

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of available funds.

SUMMARY: The Health Resources and

Services Administration (HRSA)

announces the availability of

approximately $100,000 under section

338L of the Public Health Service (PHS)

Act for competing and project period

renewal Grants to States for Community

Scholarship Programs (CSP).

The purpose of the CSP is to enable

States to increase the availability of

primary health care in urban and rural

federally designated health professional

shortage areas (HPSAs) by assisting

community organizations to provide

scholarships for the education of

individuals to serve as health

professionals in these communities.

The PHS is committed to achieving

the health promotion and disease

prevention objectives of Healthy People

2000, a PHS-led national activity. This

grant program is related to the objectives

of improving access to and availability

of primary health care services for all

Americans, especially the underserved

populations. 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, D.C. 20402–9325

(telephone number 202–783–3238).

PHS strongly encourages all grant

recipients to provide a smoke-free

workplace and promote the non-use of

all tobacco products. In addition, Public

Law 103–227, the Pro-Children Act of

1994, prohibits smoking in certain

facilities (or in some cases, any portion

of a facility) in which regular or routine

education, library, day care, health care

or early childhood development

services are provided to children.

DATES: Applications are due July 15,

1996. Applications will be considered to

have met the deadline if they are (1)

received on or before the deadline date;

or (2) postmarked 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 receipt from a commercial

carrier. Private metered postmarks will

not be acceptable as proof of timely

mailing. Late applications not accepted

for processing will be returned to the

applicant.

ADDRESSES: Application materials may

be obtained from, and completed

applications should be returned to: Ms.

Alice H. Thomas, Grants Management

Officer, Bureau of Primary Health Care

(BPHC), 4350 East-West Highway, 11th

Floor, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, (301)

594–4250. The Grants Management staff

is available to provide assistance on

business management issues.

Applications for these grants will be

made on PHS Form 5161–1 with revised

face sheet DHHS Form 424, as approved

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) under control number

0937–0189.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general program information and

technical assistance, please contact

Sharley L. Chen, Division of

Scholarships and Loan Repayments,

BPHC, HRSA, 4350 East-West Highway,

10th Floor, Bethesda, Maryland 20814,

at (301) 594–4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FY

1996, approximately $100,000 will be

awarded for 3–5 new and project period

renewal grants ranging from $5,000 to

$75,000 for a 12-month budget period

and up to a 3-year project period. Under

this program, States enter into

agreements with public or private

nonprofit community organizations

located in federally designated HPSAs.

These organizations will recruit

qualified residents of their communities

and provide scholarships to them to

become physicians, certified nurse

practitioners, certified nurse midwives,

or physician assistants based on the

needs of the communities.

This grant program is intended to be

consistent with the efforts of the

National Health Service Corps (NHSC)

Scholarship Program, NHSC Loan

Repayment Program and NHSC State
30076 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 115 / Thursday, June 13, 1996 / Notices

Loan Repayment Program to meet the

needs of underserved populations in

federally designated HPSAs through the

placement of primary care practitioners.

For purposes of this program, the term

‘‘primary health care’’ means health

services regarding family medicine,

general internal medicine, general

pediatrics, or obstetrics and gynecology,

that are provided by physicians,

certified nurse practitioners, certified

nurse midwives, or physician assistants.

The Secretary is required by statute

[Section 338L(l)(3) of the PHS Act] to

ensure that, to the extent practicable,

not less than 50 percent of the amount

appropriated will be in the aggregate

expended by the States for making

grants to community organizations that

are located in rural federally designated

HPSAs.

Eligibility Requirements

In order for a State to receive a grant

under this program, the State must:

1. Receive funding for at least one

grant, cooperative agreement, or

contract under any provisions of the

PHS Act other than section 338L for the

fiscal year for which the State is

applying;

2. Agree that the grant program will

be administered directly by a single

State agency;

3. Agree to make grants to community

organizations located in federally

designated HPSAs in order to assist

those community organizations in

providing scholarships to individuals

enrolled or accepted for enrollment as

full-time students in health professions

schools accredited by a body or bodies

recognized for accreditation purposes by

the Secretary of Education;

4. Agree that 40 percent of the total

costs of the scholarships will be paid

from the Federal grant made to the

State; and

5. Agree that 60 percent of the total

costs of the scholarships will be paid

from non-Federal contributions made in

cash by the State and the community

organization through which the

scholarship is provided.

a. The State must make available

through these cash contributions not

less than 15 percent nor more than 25

percent of the scholarship costs.

b. The community organization must

make available through these cash

contributions not less than 35 percent

nor more than 45 percent of the

scholarship costs.

c. Non-Federal contributions provided

in cash by the State and community

organization (as described in a and b

above) may not include any amounts

provided by the Federal Government to

the State, or community organization

involved, or to any other entity. NonFederal contributions required may be

provided directly by the State and

community organization involved, and

may be provided through donations

from public and private entities. States

should be aware, however, that

donations from providers may be

subject to provisions of Public Law 102–

234, the Medicaid Voluntary

Contribution and Provider-Specific Tax

Amendments of 1991.

Scholarship Requirement

To receive a grant, the State must

agree that it will award a grant to a

community organization for

scholarships only if:

1. The individual who is to receive

the scholarship under a contract is a

resident of a federally designated HPSA

in which the community organization is

located and will provide primary health

care services for:

a. A number of years equal to the

number of years for which the

scholarship is provided, or for a period

of 2 years, whichever period is greater;

or

b. Such greater period of time as the

individual and the community

organization may agree.

2. The individual agrees, while

enrolled in a health professions school,

to maintain an acceptable level of

academic standing (as determined by

the school) at the school as a full-time

student in accordance with regulation

issued by the Secretary pursuant to

Section 338A (f)(1)(B) (iii) of the PHS

Act;

3. The individual and the community

organization agree that the scholarship:

a. Will be expended only for tuition

expenses, other reasonable educational

expenses, reasonable living expenses

incurred while in attendance at the

school, and/or payment to the

individual of a monthly stipend of not

more than the amount authorized for

NHSC scholarship recipients under

Section 338A(g)(1)(B) of the PHS Act;

and

b. Will not, for any year of such

attendance for which the scholarship is

provided, be in an amount exceeding

the total amount required for the year

for the purposes indicated in paragraph

(a) above.

4. The individual agrees to meet the

educational and certification or

licensure requirements necessary to

become a primary care physician,

certified nurse practitioner, certified

nurse midwife, or physician assistant in

the State in which the individual is to

practice under the contract; and,

5. The individual agrees that, in

providing primary health care pursuant

to the scholarship, he/she:

a. Will not, in the case of an

individual seeking care, discriminate on

the basis of the ability of the individual

to pay for such care or on the basis that

payment for such care will be made

pursuant to the programs established in

Titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX

(Medicaid) of the Social Security Act;

and,

b. Will accept assignment under

Section 1842(b)(3)(B)(ii) of the Social

Security Act for all services for which

payment may be made under Part B of

Title XVIII, and will enter into an

appropriate agreement with the State

agency that administers the State plan

for medical assistance under Title XIX

to provide service to individuals

entitled to medical assistance under the

plan.

Evaluation Criteria

For new and competing continuation

grants the following criteria will be used

to evaluate applications: (a) The

magnitude and extent of the need for the

grant to provide primary health care, as

described in the proposal; (b) The extent

to which the applicant’s and

community’s recruitment plans are

consistent with the State’s plans for

meeting the needs of the community’s

primary care system; (c) The adequacy

of the methodology for selecting

community organizations, and for

monitoring and evaluating the

community organization’s compliance

with the terms and conditions of the

grant; (d) The degree of documented

community commitment to and

involvement with the grant; (e) The

appropriateness of the proposed plan to

administer and manage the grant; and (f)

The soundness of the budget and the

budget justification for assuring

effective utilization of grant funds. For

competing continuation applications,

evaluation will also be made of program

outcomes and the degree to which

stated goals and objectives were

achieved.

Other Grant Information

The CSP is subject to the provisions

of Executive Order 12372, as

implemented by 45 CFR Part 100, which

allows States the option of setting up a

system for reviewing applications from

within their States for assistance under

certain Federal programs. The

application package for this program

will include a list of States with review

systems and the single point of contact

(SPOC) in each State for the review.

Applicants (other than federallyrecognized Indian tribal governments)
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 115 / Thursday, June 13, 1996 / Notices 30077

should contact their State SPOCs as

early as possible to alert them to the

prospective applications and receive

any necessary instructions on the State

process. For proposed projects serving

more than one State, the applicant is

advised to contact the SPOC of each

affected State. The due date for State

process recommendations is 60 days

after the application deadline. The

BPHC does not guarantee that it will

accommodate or explain its response to

State process recommendations received

after that date. Grants will be

administered in accordance with HHS

regulations in 45 CFR Part 92. The OMB

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

number for this program is 93.931.

Dated: June 7, 1996.

Ciro V. Sumaya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–15024 Filed 6–12–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

Project Grants for Renovation or

Construction of Non-Acute Health Care

Facilities

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Health

Resources Development (BHRD), Health

Resources and Services Administration

(HRSA), announces that fiscal year (FY)

1996 funds are available for project

grants for the construction or renovation

of health facilities. Funds were

appropriated for these purposes by the

Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, II,

Pub. L. 104–134, for FY 1996, under the

authority of Section 1610 of the Public

Health Service (PHS) Act. The

categories for funds are: A—Women’s

Health Care, B—Rural Health Care, and

C—Oral Health Care.

DATES: To receive consideration,

applications for the renovation or

construction of facilities must be

received by the close of business July

29, 1996 by the Grants Management

Officer, Ms. Glenna Wilcom, at the

address below. Applications will meet

the deadline if they are either: (1)

Received on or before the deadline date;

or (2) postmarked on or before the

deadline date. A legibly dated receipt

from a commercial carrier or the U.S.

Postal Service will be accepted instead

of a postmark.

Private metered postmarks will not be

acceptable as proof of timely mailing.

Hand delivered applications must be

received by 5 p.m. July 29, 1996. Grant

applications that are received after the

deadline date will be returned to the

applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional information related to

technical and program issues may be

obtained from Mrs. Charlotte G. Pascoe,

Director, Division of Facilities

Compliance and Recovery, Bureau of

Health Resources Development, Health

Resources and Services Administration,

Parklawn Building, Room 7–47, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland

20857, (301) 443–4303. Grant

applications and additional information

regarding business, administrative or

fiscal issues related to the awarding of

grants under this Notice may be

requested from Ms. Glenna Wilcom,

Grants Management Officer, Bureau of

Health Resources Development, Health

Resources and Services Administration,

Parklawn Building, Room 7–27, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland

20857, (301) 443–2280. Applicants for

grants will use Form PHS 5161–1,

approved under OMB Control Number

0937–0189.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Background and Objectives

Pub. L. 104–134 provides funds for

grants under the authority of Section

1610 of the PHS Act. Section 1610(b)

provides that the amount of any grant

may not exceed 80 percent of the cost

of the project for which the grant is

made unless the project is located in an

area determined by the Secretary to be

an urban or rural poverty area, in which

case the grant may cover up to 100

percent of such costs. (Urban or rural

poverty area is defined as a medically

underserved area designated by the

Secretary (42 CFR 51c.102).) To

determine if the proposed project

location is in a medically underserved

area, the applicant may contact the

Analysis and Reporting Branch,

Division of Facilities Compliance and

Recovery, (301) 443–4303. However,

before a determination can be made, the

census tract of the facility must be

known. Appendix III provides the

telephone numbers for regional offices

of the Census Bureau. The regional

offices can provide information about

census tracts.

Availability of Funds

A total of $10,000,000 is available in

FY 1996 to be awarded in the following

categories:

A—Health Care for Women

Construction or modernization of an

outpatient medical facility located apart

from a hospital or conversion of an

existing facility to an outpatient facility

which will provide services for women

with diverse socioeconomic and

medical needs and which serves

medically underserved populations.

Approximately $3.3 million is available

to fund between one and six projects in

this category.

B—Rural Health Care

Construction or modernization of an

outpatient medical facility located apart

from a hospital or conversion of an

existing facility to an outpatient facility

which will serve medically underserved

populations and will improve rural

health care access. Approximately $3.3

million is available to fund between one

and six projects in this category.

C—Oral Health Care

Construction or modernization of an

oral health care facility located apart

from a hospital or conversion of an

existing facility to an oral health care

facility providing dental services to

medically and dentally underserved

populations, which also conducts oral

health services research. Approximately

$3.3 million is available to fund

between one and six projects in this

category.

Eligible Applicants

To be eligible, an applicant must:

(1) Be a public or private non-profit

entity;

(2) Have a source of funding to meet

the non-Federal portion of the eligible

construction cost; and

(3) Have title to a building site or have

a lease which includes the time of

construction plus 20 years of operation,

or have a written commitment to

acquire such title or lease within 3

months from the date of the grant

award.

In addition to the above general

eligibility criteria, the following applies

to specific categories:

A—Women’s Health Care

The applicant must serve a socioeconomically diverse population of

women with diverse health needs.

B—Rural Health Care

The applicant must meet one of the

three requirements stated below.

(1) The proposed project is NOT

located in a Metropolitan Statistical

Area as defined by the Office of

Management and Budget. A list of the

cities and counties that are designated

as Metropolitan Statistical Areas is

included in Appendix I. IF THE

PROPOSED PROJECT IS LOCATED IN

ONE OF THESE AREAS, IT IS NOT

ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM unless

it meets one of the other two criteria

listed below.