Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines, 2642-2644 [2018-00814]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices
• Confidential Submissions—To
submit an application with confidential
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as ‘‘confidential’’ will not be disclosed
except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20
and other applicable disclosure law. For
more information about FDA’s posting
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Docket: For access to the docket, go to
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie
Finegan, Office of Scientific Integrity,
Food and Drug Administration, 10903
New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 1, Rm.
4218, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301–
796–8618.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
I. Background
On June 24, 2013, the U. S. District
Court for the Eastern District of
Tennessee entered a criminal judgment
against William Ralph Kincaid pursuant
to his guilty plea. Kincaid pled guilty to
a felony under the FD&C Act, namely
receiving in interstate commerce a
misbranded drug with intent to defraud
or mislead, in violation of sections
301(c) and 303(a)(2) of the FD&C Act (21
U.S.C. 331(c) and 333(a)(2)) and 18
U.S.C. 2. The basis for this conviction
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:27 Jan 17, 2018
Jkt 244001
was Kincaid’s admission that he
obtained drugs from Quality Specialty
Products (QSP), a foreign company, for
use at East Tennessee HematologyOncology Associates, P.C. (McLeod
Cancer). These drugs were not FDA
approved and were misbranded in that
they lacked adequate directions for use
and were manufactured in an
establishment that was not registered
with FDA and that did not list with FDA
the drug products it manufactured.
From approximately September 2007 to
early 2008 and from August 2009 to
February 2012, McLeod Cancer
purchased more than $2 million in
misbranded unapproved drugs for use at
McLeod Cancer. Additionally, Kincaid
and McLeod Cancer billed Medicare,
TennCare, and other government health
benefit programs approximately $2.5
million for these unapproved drugs.
Kincaid is subject to debarment based
on a finding, under section 306(a)(2) of
the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 335a(a)(2)), that
he was convicted of a felony under
Federal law for conduct relating to the
regulation of a drug product under the
FD&C Act. By the letter dated May 20,
2015, FDA notified Kincaid of a
proposal to permanently debar him from
providing services in any capacity to a
person having an approved or pending
drug product application. The proposal
also offered Kincaid an opportunity to
request a hearing, providing him 30
days from the date of receipt of the letter
in which to file the request and 60 days
from the date of receipt of the letter to
support that request with information
sufficient to justify a hearing. In a letter
dated June 17, 2015, Kincaid requested
a hearing and indicated that the
information justifying the hearing
would be forthcoming. More than 60
days have passed from the date Kincaid
received FDA’s letter, and Kincaid has
not filed any additional information to
support his request.
Under the authority delegated to him
by the Commissioner of Food and
Drugs, the Director of the Office of
Scientific Integrity (OSI) has considered
Kincaid’s request for a hearing. Hearings
will not be granted on issues of policy
or law, on mere allegations, denials, or
general descriptions of positions and
contentions, or on data and information
insufficient to justify the factual
determination urged (see 21 CFR
21.24(b)).
Because Kincaid has not presented
any information to support his hearing
request, OSI concludes that Kincaid
failed to raise a genuine and substantial
issue of fact requiring a hearing.
Therefore, OSI denies Kincaid’s request
for a hearing.
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Frm 00028
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
II. Findings and Order
Therefore, OSI, under section
306(a)(2) of the FD&C Act and under the
authority delegated, finds that William
Ralph Kincaid has been convicted of a
felony under Federal law for conduct
relating to the regulation of a drug
product under the FD&C Act.
As a result of the foregoing findings,
William Ralph Kincaid is permanently
debarred from providing services in any
capacity to a person with an approved
or pending drug product application
under section 505, 512, or 802 of the
FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 355, 360b, or 382),
or under section 351 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262),
effective (see DATES) (21 U.S.C.
335a(c)(1)(B) and (c)(2)(A)(ii) and 21
U.S.C. 321(dd)). Any person with an
approved or pending drug product
application who knowingly uses the
services of Kincaid, in any capacity
during his period of debarment, will be
subject to civil money penalties. See
section 307(a)(6) of the FD&C Act (21
U.S.C. 335b(a)(6)). If Kincaid, during his
period of debarment, provides services
in any capacity to a person with an
approved or pending drug product
application, he will be subject to civil
money penalties. See section 307(a)(7)
of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 335b(a)(7)).
In addition, FDA will not accept or
review any abbreviated new drug
applications submitted by or with the
assistance of Kincaid during his period
of debarment.
Dated: January 10, 2018.
G. Matthew Warren,
Director, Office of Scientific Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2018–00719 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Annual Update of the HHS Poverty
Guidelines
Department of Health and
Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice provides an
update of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) poverty
guidelines to account for last calendar
year’s increase in prices as measured by
the Consumer Price Index.
DATES: Applicable beginning January 13,
2018, unless an office administering a
program using the guidelines specifies a
different applicability date for that
particular program.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM
18JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation,
Room 404E, Humphrey Building,
Department of Health and Human
Services, Washington, DC 20201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information about how the guidelines
are used or how income is defined in a
particular program, contact the Federal,
state, or local office that is responsible
for that program. For information about
poverty figures for immigration forms,
the Hill-Burton Uncompensated
Services Program, and the number of
people in poverty, use the specific
telephone numbers and addresses given
below.
For general questions about the
poverty guidelines themselves, contact
Kendall Swenson, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and
Evaluation, Room 422F.5, Humphrey
Building, Department of Health and
Human Services, Washington, DC
20201—telephone: (202) 690–7409—or
visit https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/.
For information about the percentage
multiple of the poverty guidelines to be
used on immigration forms such as
USCIS Form I–864, Affidavit of Support,
contact U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services at 1–800–375–
5283.
For information about the Hill-Burton
Uncompensated Services Program (free
or reduced-fee health care services at
certain hospitals and other facilities for
persons meeting eligibility criteria
involving the poverty guidelines),
contact the Health Resources and
Services Administration Information
Center at 1–800–275–4772. You also
may visit https://www.hrsa.gov/gethealth-care/affordable/hill-burton/
index.html.
For information about the number of
people in poverty, visit the Poverty
section of the Census Bureau’s website
at https://www.census.gov/topics/
income-poverty/poverty.html or contact
the Census Bureau’s Customer Service
Center at 1–800–923–8282 (toll-free) or
visit https://ask.census.gov for further
information.
poverty guidelines issued here are a
simplified version of the poverty
thresholds that the Census Bureau uses
to prepare its estimates of the number of
individuals and families in poverty.
As required by law, this update is
accomplished by increasing the latest
published Census Bureau poverty
thresholds by the relevant percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers (CPI–U). The
guidelines in this 2018 notice reflect the
2.1 percent price increase between
calendar years 2016 and 2017. After this
inflation adjustment, the guidelines are
rounded and adjusted to standardize the
differences between family sizes. In rare
circumstances, the rounding and
standardizing adjustments in the
formula result in small decreases in the
poverty guidelines for some household
sizes even when the inflation factor is
not negative. In cases where the year-toyear change in inflation is not negative
and the rounding and standardizing
adjustments in the formula result in
reductions to the guidelines from the
previous year for some household sizes,
the guidelines for the affected
household sizes are fixed at the prior
year’s guidelines. As in prior years,
these 2018 guidelines are roughly equal
to the poverty thresholds for calendar
year 2017 which the Census Bureau
expects to publish in final form in
September 2018.
The poverty guidelines continue to be
derived from the Census Bureau’s
current official poverty thresholds; they
are not derived from the Census
Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure
(SPM).
The following guideline figures
represent annual income.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
ADDRESSES:
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Background
Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981 (42
U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the Secretary of
the Department of Health and Human
Services to update the poverty
guidelines at least annually, adjusting
them on the basis of the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI–U).
The poverty guidelines are used as an
eligibility criterion by Medicaid and a
number of other Federal programs. The
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:27 Jan 17, 2018
Jkt 244001
2018 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE
48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Persons in family/household
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
Poverty
guideline
$12,140
16,460
20,780
25,100
29,420
33,740
38,060
42,380
For families/households with more
than 8 persons, add $4,320 for each
additional person.
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2643
2018 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR
ALASKA
Persons in family/household
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
Poverty
guideline
$15,180
20,580
25,980
31,380
36,780
42,180
47,580
52,980
For families/households with more
than 8 persons, add $5,400 for each
additional person.
2018 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR
HAWAII
Persons in family/household
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
Poverty
guideline
$13,960
18,930
23,900
28,870
33,840
38,810
43,780
48,750
For families/households with more
than 8 persons, add $4,970 for each
additional person.
Separate poverty guideline figures for
Alaska and Hawaii reflect Office of
Economic Opportunity administrative
practice beginning in the 1966–1970
period. (Note that the Census Bureau
poverty thresholds—the version of the
poverty measure used for statistical
purposes—have never had separate
figures for Alaska and Hawaii.) The
poverty guidelines are not defined for
Puerto Rico or other outlying
jurisdictions. In cases in which a
Federal program using the poverty
guidelines serves any of those
jurisdictions, the Federal office that
administers the program is generally
responsible for deciding whether to use
the contiguous-states-and-DC guidelines
for those jurisdictions or to follow some
other procedure.
Due to confusing legislative language
dating back to 1972, the poverty
guidelines sometimes have been
mistakenly referred to as the ‘‘OMB’’
(Office of Management and Budget)
poverty guidelines or poverty line. In
fact, OMB has never issued the
guidelines; the guidelines are issued
each year by the Department of Health
and Human Services. The poverty
guidelines may be formally referenced
as ‘‘the poverty guidelines updated
periodically in the Federal Register by
E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM
18JAN1
2644
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Notices
the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services under the authority of
42 U.S.C. 9902(2).’’
Some federal programs use a
percentage multiple of the guidelines
(for example, 125 percent or 185 percent
of the guidelines), as noted in relevant
authorizing legislation or program
regulations. Non-Federal organizations
that use the poverty guidelines under
their own authority in non-Federallyfunded activities also may choose to use
a percentage multiple of the guidelines.
The poverty guidelines do not make a
distinction between farm and non-farm
families, or between aged and non-aged
units. (Only the Census Bureau poverty
thresholds have separate figures for aged
and non-aged one-person and twoperson units.)
Note that this notice does not provide
definitions of such terms as ‘‘income’’ or
‘‘family,’’ because there is considerable
variation in defining these terms among
the different programs that use the
guidelines. These variations are
traceable to the different laws and
regulations that govern the various
programs. This means that questions
such as ‘‘Is income counted before or
after taxes?’’, ‘‘Should a particular type
of income be counted?’’, and ‘‘Should a
particular person be counted as a
member of the family/household?’’ are
actually questions about how a specific
program applies the poverty guidelines.
All such questions about how a specific
program applies the guidelines should
be directed to the entity that administers
or funds the program, since that entity
has the responsibility for defining such
terms as ‘‘income’’ or ‘‘family,’’ to the
extent that these terms are not already
defined for the program in legislation or
regulations.
Dated: January 12, 2018.
Eric D. Hargan,
Acting Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
[FR Doc. 2018–00814 Filed 1–12–18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4150–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Automated Commercial Environment
(ACE) Becoming the Sole CBPAuthorized Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) System for
Processing Electronic Drawback
Filings
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:27 Jan 17, 2018
Jkt 244001
ACTION:
General notice.
This document announces
that the Automated Commercial
Environment (ACE) will be the sole
electronic data interchange (EDI) system
authorized by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) for processing
electronic drawback filings under part
181 (NAFTA drawback) and part 191
(non-TFTEA drawback) of Title 19 of
the Code of Federal Regulations. This
document also announces that the
Automated Commercial System (ACS)
will no longer be a CBP-authorized EDI
system for purposes of processing such
filings. This notice further announces
the deployment of a new ACE filing
code for all electronic drawback filings,
replacing the six distinct drawback
codes previously filed in ACS.
DATES: As of February 24, 2018, ACE
will be the sole CBP-authorized EDI
system for processing drawback filings
under part 181 (NAFTA drawback) and
part 191 (non-TFTEA drawback) of Title
19 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
and ACS will no longer be a CBPauthorized EDI system for such purpose.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Randy Mitchell, Commercial Operations
and Entry Division, Trade Policy and
Programs, Office of Trade at (202) 863–
6532 or RANDY.MITCHELL@
CBP.DHS.GOV.
SUMMARY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 484 of the Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (19 U.S.C. 1484),
establishes the requirement for
importers of record to make entry for
merchandise to be imported into the
customs territory of the United States.
Customs entry information is used by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) and Partner Government Agencies
(PGAs) to determine whether
merchandise may be released from CBP
custody. Importers of record are also
obligated to complete the entry by filing
an entry summary declaring the value,
classification, rate of duty applicable to
the merchandise and such other
information as is necessary for CBP to
properly assess duties, collect accurate
statistics and determine whether any
other applicable requirement of law is
met.
The customs entry requirements were
amended by Title VI of the North
American Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103–182,
107 Stat. 2057, December 8, 1993),
commonly known as the Customs
Modernization Act, or Mod Act. In
particular, section 637 of the Mod Act
amended section 484(a)(1)(A) of the
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Frm 00030
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1484(a)(1)(A)) by revising the
requirement to make and complete
customs entry by submitting
documentation to CBP to allow, in the
alternative, the electronic transmission
of such entry information pursuant to a
CBP-authorized electronic data
interchange (EDI) system. CBP created
the Automated Commercial System
(ACS) to track, control, and process all
commercial goods imported into the
United States. CBP established the
specific requirements and procedures
for the electronic filing of entry and
entry summary data for imported
merchandise through the Automated
Broker Interface (ABI) to ACS.
II. Transition Into the Automated
Commercial Environment
In an effort to modernize the business
processes essential to securing U.S.
borders, facilitating the flow of
legitimate shipments, and targeting
illicit goods pursuant to the Mod Act
and the Security and Accountability for
Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 (Pub. L.
109–347, 120 Stat. 1884), CBP
developed the Automated Commercial
Environment (ACE) to eventually
replace ACS as the CBP-authorized EDI
system. Over the last several years, CBP
has tested ACE and provided significant
public outreach to ensure that the trade
community is fully aware of the
transition from ACS to ACE.
On October 13, 2015, CBP published
an Interim Final Rule in the Federal
Register (80 FR 61278) that designated
ACE as a CBP-authorized EDI system.
The designation of ACE as a CBPauthorized EDI system was effective
November 1, 2015. In the Interim Final
Rule, CBP stated that ACS would be
phased out and anticipated that ACS
would no longer be supported for entry
and entry summary filing. Filers were
encouraged to adjust their business
practices so that they would be prepared
when ACS was decommissioned.
CBP developed a staggered transition
strategy for decommissioning ACS. The
phases of the transition were announced
in several Federal Register notices. See
81 FR 10264 (February 29, 2016); 81 FR
30320 (May 16, 2016); 81 FR 32339
(May 23, 2016); 82 FR 38924 (August 16,
2017); and 82 FR 51852 (November 8,
2017). This notice announces another
transition as the processing of electronic
drawback filings under parts 181 and
191 of title 19 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) is transitioning into
ACE.
E:\FR\FM\18JAN1.SGM
18JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2642-2644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00814]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice provides an update of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines to account for last calendar
year's increase in prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
DATES: Applicable beginning January 13, 2018, unless an office
administering a program using the guidelines specifies a different
applicability date for that particular program.
[[Page 2643]]
ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and
Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and
Human Services, Washington, DC 20201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about how the
guidelines are used or how income is defined in a particular program,
contact the Federal, state, or local office that is responsible for
that program. For information about poverty figures for immigration
forms, the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services Program, and the number
of people in poverty, use the specific telephone numbers and addresses
given below.
For general questions about the poverty guidelines themselves,
contact Kendall Swenson, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation, Room 422F.5, Humphrey Building, Department of Health
and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201--telephone: (202) 690-7409--or
visit https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/.
For information about the percentage multiple of the poverty
guidelines to be used on immigration forms such as USCIS Form I-864,
Affidavit of Support, contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
at 1-800-375-5283.
For information about the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services
Program (free or reduced-fee health care services at certain hospitals
and other facilities for persons meeting eligibility criteria involving
the poverty guidelines), contact the Health Resources and Services
Administration Information Center at 1-800-275-4772. You also may visit
https://www.hrsa.gov/get-health-care/affordable/hill-burton/.
For information about the number of people in poverty, visit the
Poverty section of the Census Bureau's website at https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty.html or contact the Census
Bureau's Customer Service Center at 1-800-923-8282 (toll-free) or visit
https://ask.census.gov for further information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of
1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services to update the poverty guidelines at least
annually, adjusting them on the basis of the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The poverty guidelines are used as an
eligibility criterion by Medicaid and a number of other Federal
programs. The poverty guidelines issued here are a simplified version
of the poverty thresholds that the Census Bureau uses to prepare its
estimates of the number of individuals and families in poverty.
As required by law, this update is accomplished by increasing the
latest published Census Bureau poverty thresholds by the relevant
percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
(CPI-U). The guidelines in this 2018 notice reflect the 2.1 percent
price increase between calendar years 2016 and 2017. After this
inflation adjustment, the guidelines are rounded and adjusted to
standardize the differences between family sizes. In rare
circumstances, the rounding and standardizing adjustments in the
formula result in small decreases in the poverty guidelines for some
household sizes even when the inflation factor is not negative. In
cases where the year-to-year change in inflation is not negative and
the rounding and standardizing adjustments in the formula result in
reductions to the guidelines from the previous year for some household
sizes, the guidelines for the affected household sizes are fixed at the
prior year's guidelines. As in prior years, these 2018 guidelines are
roughly equal to the poverty thresholds for calendar year 2017 which
the Census Bureau expects to publish in final form in September 2018.
The poverty guidelines continue to be derived from the Census
Bureau's current official poverty thresholds; they are not derived from
the Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).
The following guideline figures represent annual income.
2018 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of
Columbia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family/household guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $12,140
2....................................................... 16,460
3....................................................... 20,780
4....................................................... 25,100
5....................................................... 29,420
6....................................................... 33,740
7....................................................... 38,060
8....................................................... 42,380
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,320 for
each additional person.
2018 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family/household guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $15,180
2....................................................... 20,580
3....................................................... 25,980
4....................................................... 31,380
5....................................................... 36,780
6....................................................... 42,180
7....................................................... 47,580
8....................................................... 52,980
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $5,400 for
each additional person.
2018 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family/household guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $13,960
2....................................................... 18,930
3....................................................... 23,900
4....................................................... 28,870
5....................................................... 33,840
6....................................................... 38,810
7....................................................... 43,780
8....................................................... 48,750
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,970 for
each additional person.
Separate poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii reflect
Office of Economic Opportunity administrative practice beginning in the
1966-1970 period. (Note that the Census Bureau poverty thresholds--the
version of the poverty measure used for statistical purposes--have
never had separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.) The poverty
guidelines are not defined for Puerto Rico or other outlying
jurisdictions. In cases in which a Federal program using the poverty
guidelines serves any of those jurisdictions, the Federal office that
administers the program is generally responsible for deciding whether
to use the contiguous-states-and-DC guidelines for those jurisdictions
or to follow some other procedure.
Due to confusing legislative language dating back to 1972, the
poverty guidelines sometimes have been mistakenly referred to as the
``OMB'' (Office of Management and Budget) poverty guidelines or poverty
line. In fact, OMB has never issued the guidelines; the guidelines are
issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. The
poverty guidelines may be formally referenced as ``the poverty
guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by
[[Page 2644]]
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of
42 U.S.C. 9902(2).''
Some federal programs use a percentage multiple of the guidelines
(for example, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines), as noted
in relevant authorizing legislation or program regulations. Non-Federal
organizations that use the poverty guidelines under their own authority
in non-Federally-funded activities also may choose to use a percentage
multiple of the guidelines.
The poverty guidelines do not make a distinction between farm and
non-farm families, or between aged and non-aged units. (Only the Census
Bureau poverty thresholds have separate figures for aged and non-aged
one-person and two-person units.)
Note that this notice does not provide definitions of such terms as
``income'' or ``family,'' because there is considerable variation in
defining these terms among the different programs that use the
guidelines. These variations are traceable to the different laws and
regulations that govern the various programs. This means that questions
such as ``Is income counted before or after taxes?'', ``Should a
particular type of income be counted?'', and ``Should a particular
person be counted as a member of the family/household?'' are actually
questions about how a specific program applies the poverty guidelines.
All such questions about how a specific program applies the guidelines
should be directed to the entity that administers or funds the program,
since that entity has the responsibility for defining such terms as
``income'' or ``family,'' to the extent that these terms are not
already defined for the program in legislation or regulations.
Dated: January 12, 2018.
Eric D. Hargan,
Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-00814 Filed 1-12-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4150-05-P
