Department of Defense 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule establishes reimbursement rates for Long Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs) and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) in accordance with the statutory requirement that TRICARE inpatient care ``payments shall be determined to the extent practicable in accordance with the same reimbursement rules as apply to payments to providers of services of the same type under Medicare.'' This final rule adopts Medicare's reimbursement methodologies for inpatient services provided by LTCHs and IRFs. Each reimbursement methodology will be phased in over a 3-year period. This final rule also removes the definitions for ``hospital, long-term (tuberculosis, chronic care, or rehabilitation)'' and ``long-term hospital care,'' and creates separate definitions for ``Long Term Care Hospital'' and ``Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility'' adopting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) classification criteria. This final rule also includes authority for a year-end, discretionary General Temporary Military Contingency Payment Adjustment (GTMCPA) for inpatient services in TRICARE network IRFs when deemed essential to meet military contingency requirements.

DoD is making technical amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to provide needed editorial changes.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add Latvia as a qualifying country.

The Department of Defense is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Government-Industry Advisory Panel. This meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel (SNAP) and subcommittee Naval Research Advisory Committee (NRAC) will meet to discuss materials in support of two studies: ``Use and Acquisition of Unmanned Systems in the Department of the Navy'' and ``Improving Governance in the Department of the Navy.'' These sessions will be open to the public, with exception to any specific deliberations which may include the review of classified material.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the Sunshine in the Government Act of 1976 and the Code of the Federal Regulations, the Department of the Army announces the following committee meeting: Name of Committee: Army Science Board (ASB). Date(s) of Meeting: January 9-11, 2018. Time(s) of Meeting:

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Chief of Engineers, Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). This meeting is open to the public. For additional information about the EAB, please visit the committee's website at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/ Environmental/EnvironmentalAdvisoryBoard.aspx.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Defense Policy Board (DPB). This meeting will be closed to the public.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, DoD announces the proposed extension of a public information collection requirement and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. DoD invites comments on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of DoD, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved this information collection requirement for use through February 28, 2018. DoD proposes that OMB extend its approval for three additional years.

The Department of Defense (Department) is amending its interpretive rule for the Military Lending Act (the MLA). The MLA, as implemented by the Department, limits the military annual percentage rate (MAPR) that a creditor may charge to a maximum of 36 percent, requires certain disclosures, and provides other substantive consumer protections on ``consumer credit'' extended to Service members and their families. On July 22, 2015, the Department amended its regulation primarily for the purpose of extending the protections of the MLA to a broader range of closed-end and open-end credit products (the July 2015 Final Rule). On August 26, 2016, the Department issued the first set of interpretations of that regulation in the form of questions and answers; the present interpretive rule amends and adds to those questions and answers to provide guidance on certain questions the Department has received regarding compliance with the July 2015 Final Rule.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that the following Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Vietnam War Commemoration Advisory Committee will take place.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are available for domestic and foreign licensing by the Department of the Navy. The following patents are available for licensing://U.S. Patent No. 9,459,079: LIGHTWEIGHT ARMOR WITH SLIDE REGION FOR SLIDABLY REDIRECTING PROJECTILES//U.S. Patent No. 9,499,890: HIGH-STRENGTH, HIGH-TOUGHNESS STEEL ARTICLES FOR BALLISTIC AND CRYOGENIC APPLICATIONS AND METHOD OF MAKING THEREOF//U.S. Patent No. 9,524,358: CORE-MODULAR INTEROPERABILITY ARCHITECTURE FOR MODELING AND SIMULATION//U.S. Patent No. 9,557,414: ULTRA-BROADBAND COHERENT RADAR TRANSPONDER FOR PRECISION TRACKING//U.S. Patent No. 9,588,011: SHIP RESISTANCE PREDICTION USING A TURBULENT SPOT INDUCER IN MODEL TESTING//U.S. Patent No. 9,628,314: DIGITAL I/Q REPROCESSING DEMODULATOR (DIRD)//U.S. Patent No. 9,630,812: LOAD TRANSFER ACCESSORY FOR DIMINISHING UNWANTED MOTION OF CYLINDRICAL CARGO DURING LOADING OPERATIONS//U.S. Patent No. 9,651,374: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING PHYSICAL PHENOMENA IN AN OPEN WATER ENVIRONMENT// U.S. Patent No. 9,666,864: VERTICALLY ORIENTED GRAPHENE-SUPPORTED ANODE//U.S. Patent No. 9,667,349: DYNAMIC RANGE EXTENSION OF HETERODYNE FIBER-OPTIC INTERFEROMETERS VIA INSTANTANEOUS CARRIER MEASUREMENT//

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB, for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

This notice provides a five-year extension to the Military Health System's demonstration project entitled Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration (``Autism Care Demonstration''). The initial purpose of the Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) was to further analyze and evaluate the appropriateness of the ABA services tiered delivery model under TRICARE (the medical benefit) in light of current and anticipated Behavior Analyst Certification Board guidelines. Based on the agency's experience in administering ABA services under the ACD, including engagement with beneficiaries, providers, advocates, associations, and other payers, much more analysis and experience is required in order to determine the appropriate characterization of ABA services as a medical treatment, or other modalities, under the TRICARE program coverage requirementsto include further research and evaluation of the results, whether Board Certified Behavior Analysts may appropriately be recognized and treated as independent TRICARE authorized providers of a proven medical benefit, and what authorities are required to add ABA services as a permanent benefit under the TRICARE programwhether as a proven medical benefit or otherwise.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Defense Acquisition Regulations System has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) South Atlantic Division and the Port of Stockton are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to evaluate the efficiency of the movement of goods along the existing deep-draft navigation route extending from the Golden Gate, through San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, to deep draft facilities at Avon, California. This Notice of Intent (NOI) represents a supplemental notice to the March 4, 2016, NOI released for the San Francisco Bay to Stockton Navigation Improvement Study. This supplemental NOI is being released to notify the public that the study scope has been reduced to only consider improvements within the portion of the navigation project extending from San Francisco Bay to Avon. Work is now being conducted on an EIS/EIR with a reduced scope and project footprint, which is anticipated to be issued for public review in 2018. This NOI also re- opens the public scoping period. The 2016 NOI proposed to deepen the John F. Baldwin channel from the West Richmond Channel through the Pinole Shoal Channel, Bulls Head Reach and Suisun Bay Channel to New York Slough Channel to a maximum depth of 45 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) and the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel to a maximum depth of 40 feet MLLW. As of September, 2017, the portion of the authorized navigation project to the east of Avon is no longer under consideration for formulation of navigation improvements. The revised study area extends from Central San Francisco Bay to Avon only and includes the West Richmond Channel, Pinole Shoal Channel, and Bulls Head Reach portion of the Suisun Bay Channel (west of Avon). The current authorized depth of this study area is 45 feet mean lower low water (MLLW), but is currently maintained at 35 feet MLLW. The forthcoming EIS/EIR is a single purpose navigation improvement project to evaluate incremental deepening to a maximum depth of 38 feet MLLW within the channel reaches of the revised study area only.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB) will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Biobased Procurements. A notice was published in the Federal Register at 82 FR 40769, on August 28, 2017. No comments were received.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.