March 27, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final notice announces the approval of a deeming application from the Joint Commission for continued recognition as a national accreditation program for hospices that request participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.

This notice announces the renewal of the charter of the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education (the Panel). The Panel advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of consumer education strategies concerning the Medicare program. This notice also announces a meeting of the Panel in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This meeting is open to the public.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this extension of a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

Under the provision of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), agencies are required to publish a Notice in the Federal Register notifying the public, that the Agency is revising an information collection request for OMB review, approval, and request public review and comment on the submission. Comments are being solicited on the need for the information; the accuracy of the Agency's burden estimate; the quality, practical utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the reporting burden, including automated collection techniques by using other forms of technology. The proposed form under review is summarized below.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

This notice lists CMS manual instructions, substantive and interpretive regulations, and other Federal Register notices that were published from October 2008 through December 2008, relating to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This notice provides information on national coverage determinations (NCDs) affecting specific medical and health care services under Medicare. Additionally, this notice identifies certain devices with investigational device exemption (IDE) numbers approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that potentially may be covered under Medicare. This notice also includes listings of all approval numbers from the Office of Management and Budget for collections of information in CMS regulations and a list of Medicare-approved carotid stent facilities. Included in this notice is a list of the American College of Cardiology's National Cardiovascular Data registry sites, active CMS coverage-related guidance documents, and special one-time notices regarding national coverage provisions. Also included in this notice is a list of National Oncologic Positron Emissions Tomography Registry sites, a list of Medicare-approved ventricular assist device (destination therapy) facilities, a list of Medicare-approved lung volume reduction surgery facilities, a list of Medicare-approved clinical trials for fluorodeoxyglucose positron emissions tomography for dementia, and a list of Medicare-approved bariatric surgery facilities.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its security regulations and adding new security requirements pertaining to nuclear power reactors. This rulemaking establishes and updates generically applicable security requirements similar to those previously imposed by Commission orders issued after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Additionally, this rulemaking adds several new requirements not derived directly from the security order requirements but developed as a result of insights gained from implementation of the security orders, review of site security plans, implementation of the enhanced baseline inspection program, and NRC evaluation of force-on-force exercises. This rulemaking also updates the NRC's security regulatory framework for the licensing of new nuclear power plants. Finally, it resolves three petitions for rulemaking (PRM) that were considered during the development of the final rule.

This notice announces CMS' grant of deeming authority to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) program. We have determined that the requirements of the AOA accreditation process are equal to or more stringent than the CLIA condition level requirements, and that the AOA has met the requirements of CMS. Consequently, laboratories that are voluntarily accredited by the AOA and continue to meet the AOA requirements will be deemed to meet the CLIA condition level requirements for laboratories and therefore are not subject to routine inspection by State survey agencies to determine their compliance with Federal requirements. They are, however, subject to Federal validation and complaint investigation surveys conducted by CMS or its designee.