Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Updates to Uniform Standard for Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core Medical Services Expenditure Requirement, OMB No. 0906-XXXX-NEW

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) is being forwarded by HRSA to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day comment period for this Notice has closed.

DATES:

Comments on this ICR should be received no later than September 20, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request a copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, email Lisa Wright-Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at paperwork@hrsa.gov or call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the information request collection title for reference.

Information Collection Request Title: Updates to Uniform Standard for Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core Medical Services Expenditure Requirement, OMB No. 0906-XXXX-NEW.

Abstract: In accordance with sections 2604(c), 2612(b), and 2651(c) of the Public Health Service Act, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients are required to spend not less than 75 percent of grant funds on core medical services for individuals with HIV identified and eligible under the statute, after reserving statutory permissible amounts for administrative and clinical quality management costs. The RWHAP statute also grants the Secretary authority to waive this requirement for RWHAP Parts A, B, or C recipients if a number of requirements are met and a waiver request is submitted to HRSA for approval. RWHAP Part A, B, and C core medical services waiver requests—if approved—are effective for a 1-year budget period, and apply to funds awarded under the Minority AIDS Initiative.

Currently, for a core medical services waiver request to be approved, (1) core medical services must be available and accessible to all individuals identified and eligible for the RWHAP in the recipient's service area within 30 days, without regard to payer source; (2) there cannot be any AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting lists in the recipient's service area; and (3) a public process to obtain input on the waiver request from impacted communities, including clients and RWHAP-funded core medical services providers, on the availability of core medical services and the decision to request the waiver must have occurred. The public process may be a part of the same one used to seek input on community needs as part of the annual priority setting and resource allocation, comprehensive planning, statewide coordinated statement of need, public planning, and/or needs assessment processes.

HRSA is proposing to simplify the waiver request process for RWHAP Parts A, B, and C recipients by revising Policy Number 13-07: Uniform Standard for Waiver of Core Medical Services Requirement for Grantees Under Part, A, B, and C. The proposed changes would reduce the administrative burden for recipients by lessening the documentation they must submit to HRSA when requesting a waiver. Under the proposed policy, recipients would be required to submit a one-page “HRSA RWHAP Core Medical Services Waiver Request Attestation Form” to HRSA in lieu of the multiple documents, including but not limited to a narrative of up to 10 pages currently required to submit a waiver request. Waiver request submission deadlines would also be revised. When finalized, the policy would replace HAB Policy Number 13-07 effective October 1, 2021, and would be named “Waiver of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Core Medical Services Expenditure Requirement.”

A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2021, vol. 86, No. 74, pp. 20499-20500. No public comments were received in response to the ICR.

Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA uses the documentation submitted in core medical services waiver requests to determine if the grant applicant or recipient meets the statutory requirements for waiver eligibility outlined in Sections 2604(c), 2612(b), and 2651(c) of the Public Health Service Act.

Likely Respondents: HRSA expects responses from RWHAP Parts A, B, and C grant applicants and recipients. The number of grant recipients requesting waivers has fluctuated annually and has ranged from 15 to 22 per year since the waiver process was implemented in FY 2007.

Given the changes in the health care environment, HRSA anticipates receiving possibly up to 22 applications in a given year.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

HRSA notes that this proposed process represents a decrease in burden when compared to the current policy outlined in PN 13-07 due in part to the elimination of the requirement to prepare and submit a narrative and multiple documents. HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.