57364 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 192 / Thursday, October 2, 2008 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ralph Goldberg, (410) 786–4870 or Gina 

Longus, (410) 786–1287. Press inquiries 

are handled through the CMS Press 

Office at (202) 690–6145. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Payment for durable medical 

equipment (DME) is currently based on 

fee schedule amounts established using 

reasonable charge data from earlier 

years. Section 1847 of the Social 

Security Act (the Act) requires the 

Secretary to replace the current DME 

payment methodology for certain items 

with a competitive bidding process to 

improve the effectiveness of Medicare’s 

methodology for setting DME payment 

amounts. This bidding process will 

establish payment for certain durable 

medical equipment, enteral nutrition, 

prosthetics, and off-the-shelf orthotics. 

In addition, section 1847(c) of the Act 

requires the Secretary to establish a 

Program Advisory and Oversight 

Committee (PAOC) to provide advice on 

the development and implementation of 

the program. 

We established a PAOC pursuant to 

this statutory mandate, and the PAOC 

has provided advice in the development 

and implementation of the program to 

date. On July 15, 2008, Congress passed 

the Medicare Improvements for Patients 

and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). 

Section 154 of MIPPA delays 

competition for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 

competitive bidding program and 

requires certain modifications to the 

program. Section 154(c)(2)(A) of MIPPA 

delays the termination date for the 

PAOC from December 31, 2009 to 

December 31, 2011. 

The PAOC committee continues to 

have an important role in the 

implementation of the competitive 

bidding program. The PAOC members 

will need to review the previous 

bidding process and consider all of the 

MIPPA changes. Due to the length of the 

MIPPA delay and these additional 

duties, we have decided to end the term 

of service for the initial PAOC members 

and solicit nominees to serve for the 

next phase of the program. 

II. Goals, General Responsibilities, and 

Composition of the Program Advisory 

and Oversight Committee (PAOC) 

A. Goals and General Responsibilities 

Section 1847(c)(3) of the Act requires 

the PAOC to provide advice to the 

Secretary on the following: 

• The implementation of the program. 

• The establishment of financial 

standards, taking into account the needs 

of small providers. 

• The establishment of requirements 

for collection of data for the efficient 

management of the program. 

• The development of proposals for 

efficient interaction among 

manufacturers, providers of services, 

suppliers, and individuals. 

• The establishment of quality 

standards. 

Section 1847(c)(3)(B) of the Act 

requires the PAOC to perform additional 

functions to assist the Secretary in 

implementing the program as the 

Secretary may specify. In accordance 

with section 1847(c)(5) of the Act, as 

amended by section 154 of MIPPA, the 

Committee will terminate on December 

31, 2011. Committee meetings are 

expected to occur on an ad hoc basis. 

Committee meetings will be held in the 

Baltimore/Washington DC area. (We 

will reimburse travel expenses, which 

will be based on government per diem 

rates and travel policy.) 

B. Composition of the Program Advisory 

and Oversight Committee 

We have particular interest in 

individuals with expertise in DME, 

prosthetics, orthotics, or supplies 

(DMEPOS) and competitive bidding, as 

well as experience in furnishing 

services and items in the rural and the 

urban marketplace. The PAOC will be 

composed of 10 to 12 members from the 

following broad representation: 

• Beneficiary/consumer 

representatives. 

• Physicians and other practitioners. 

• Suppliers. 

• Professional standards 

organizations. 

• Financial standards specialists (that 

is, economist/CPA). 

• Association representatives. 

• Other. (If you believe that 

representatives of other specialties or 

with other skills should be included on 

the committee, you may indicate the 

category or respective categories and 

you may nominate an individual for that 

category.) 

III. Submission of Nominations 

This notice is requesting nominations 

for membership on the PAOC. The 

Secretary will consider qualified 

individuals who are determined to have 

the expertise required to meet specific 

agency needs and who will ensure an 

appropriate balance of membership. 

Nominations may be made for one or 

more qualified individuals, and selfnominations will also be accepted. Each 

nomination must include the following: 

1. A letter of nomination that includes 

both of the following: 

a. Contact information for both the 

nominator and nominee (if not the 

same). 

b. The category, as specified in 

section II.B. of this notice for which the 

nomination is being made (for example, 

suppliers or association 

representatives). 

2. A curriculum vitae or resume of the 

nominee that includes a statement of the 

nominee’s current professional 

responsibilities (not to exceed five 

pages). 

3. A statement that the nominee is 

willing to serve on the committee for its 

duration (that is, until December 31, 

2011). This statement should also 

include a discussion of the nominee’s 

relevant experience (not to exceed three 

pages). (For self-nominations, this 

information may be included in the 

nomination letter.) 

Authority: Section 1847(c) of the Social 

Security Act. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance Program; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: September 25, 2008. 

Kerry Weems, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. E8–23159 Filed 10–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Health Resources and Services 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

Periodically, the Health Resources 

and Services Administration (HRSA) 

publishes abstracts of information 

collection requests under review by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), in compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of 

the clearance requests submitted to 

OMB for review, e-mail 

paperwork@hrsa.gov or call the HRSA 

Reports Clearance Office on 301–443– 

1129. 

The following request has been 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget for review under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: 

Proposed Project: The National Health 

Service Corps Uniform Data System 

(OMB No. 0915–0232) Extension 

HRSA’s Bureau of Clinician 

Recruitment and Service places 

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) 

health care professionals at sites that 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 192 / Thursday, October 2, 2008 / Notices 57365 

provide services to underserved and 

vulnerable populations. The NHSC 

Uniform Data System report (UDS) is 

completed by sites that receive the 

placement of an NHSC provider, if those 

sites are not currently receiving HRSA 

grant support. The NHSC UDS provides 

information that is utilized for 

monitoring and evaluation of program 

operations and effectiveness, and to 

accurately report on the scope of 

supported activities. 

The estimated annual burden is as 

follows: 

Instrument Number of 

respondents 

Responses 

per 

respondent 

Total 

responses 

Hours per 

response 

Total burden 

hours 

Uniform Data System ........................................................... 1,200 1 1,200 27 32,400 

Written comments and 

recommendations concerning the 

proposed information collection should 

be sent within 30 days of this notice to 

the desk officer for HRSA, either by email to OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov 

or by fax to 202–395–6974. Please direct 

all correspondence to the ‘‘attention of 

the desk officer for HRSA.’’ 

Dated: September 26, 2008. 

Alexandra Huttinger, 

Director, Division of Policy Review and 

Coordination. 

[FR Doc. E8–23222 Filed 10–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Health Resources and Services 

Administration 

National Advisory Council on Migrant 

Health; Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463), notice is hereby given 

of the following meeting: 

Name: National Advisory Council on 

Migrant Health. 

Dates and Times: November 18, 2008, 8:30 

a.m. to 5 p.m.; November 19, 2008, 8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. 

Place: Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, 500 

Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, 

Telephone: (504) 525–2500, Fax: (504) 595– 

5252. 

Status: The meeting will be open to the 

public. 

Purpose: The purpose of the meeting is to 

discuss services and issues related to the 

health of migrant and seasonal farmworkers 

and their families and to formulate 

recommendations for the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services. 

Agenda: The agenda includes an overview 

of the Council’s general business activities. 

The Council will also hear presentations 

from experts on farmworker issues, including 

the status of farmworker health at the local 

and national levels. 

In addition, the Council will be holding a 

public hearing at which migrant 

farmworkers, community leaders, and 

providers will have the opportunity to testify 

before the Council regarding matters that 

affect the health of migrant farmworkers. The 

hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, 

November 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the 

Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. 

The Council meeting is being held in 

conjunction with the Midwest Stream 

Farmworker Health Forum sponsored by the 

National Center for Farmworker Health, 

which is being held in New Orleans, 

Louisiana, November 19–22, 2008. 

Agenda items are subject to change as 

priorities indicate. 

For Further Information Contact: Gladys 

Cate, Office of Minority and Special 

Populations, Bureau of Primary Health Care, 

Health Resources and Services 

Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Maryland 

20857; telephone (301) 594–0367. 

Dated: September 26, 2008. 

Alexandra Huttinger, 

Director, Division of Policy Review and 

Coordination. 

[FR Doc. E8–23228 Filed 10–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Submission for OMB Approval; 

Comment Request; Extension of 

Approved Collection; Responsibility of 

Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in 

Research for Which Public Health 

Service Funding Is Sought, 42 CFR 

Part 50, Subpart F and for Responsible 

Prospective Contractors, 45 CFR Part 

94 C 

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of 

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

Reduction Act of 1995, 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 July 14, 2008 (Vol. 73, No. 

135, p. 40354–40355) and allowed 60- 

days for public comment. There were no 

public comments received during this 

time. 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: Responsibility of Applicants for 

Promoting Objectivity in Research for 

which Public Health Service Funding is 

Sought and for Responsible Prospective 

Contractors, 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart F, 

and 45 CFR Part 94. 

Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of OMB No. 0925– 

0417, expiration date November 30, 

2008. 

Need and Use of the Information 

Collection: This is a request for OMB 

Approval for the information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements 

contained in the final rule 42 CFR Part 

50, Subpart F and related recordkeeping 

requirements regarding contractors in 

Responsible Prospective Contractors, 45 

CFR Part 94. The purpose of these 

regulations is to promote objectivity in 

research by requiring institutions to 

establish standards to ensure that there 

is no reasonable expectation that the 

design, conduct, or reporting of research 

will be biased by a conflicting financial 

interest of an investigator. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit; 

not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or 

tribal government. 

Type of Respondents: Any public or 

private entity or organization. 

The annual reporting burden is as 

follows: 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

67,860. 

Estimated Number of Responses Per 

Respondent: 1.60; 

Averaged Burden Hours Per 

Response: 3.40.; and 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours Requested: 220,280. 

The annualized cost to the public is 

estimated at $8,120,000. 

Operating Costs and/or maintenance 

costs are $4,633.00. 

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