Department of Health and Human Services July 3, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This proposed rule would update the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including the national, standardized 60- day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, the low- utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) add-on, the nonroutine medical supplies (NRS) conversion factor, and outlier payments under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health agencies (HHAs), effective January 1, 2014. As required by the Affordable Care Act, this rule also proposes rebasing adjustments, with a 4-year phase-in, to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates; the national per- visit rates; and the NRS conversion factor. Finally, the proposed rule would also establish home health quality reporting requirements for CY 2014 payment and subsequent years and would clarify that a state Medicaid program must provide that, in certifying home health agencies, the state's designated survey agency must carry out certain other responsibilities that already apply to surveys of nursing facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID), including sharing in the cost of HHA surveys. For that portion of costs attributable to Medicare and Medicaid, we would assign 50 percent to Medicare and 50 percent to Medicaid, the standard method that CMS and states use in the allocation of expenses related to surveys of SNF/NF nursing homes.

The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act), Pubic Law 109-41, 42 U.S.C. 299b-21b-26, provides for the formation of Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs), which collect, aggregate, and analyze confidential information regarding the quality and safety of health care delivery. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Final Rule (Patient Safety Rule), 42 CFR Part 3, authorizes AHRQ, on behalf of the Secretary of HHS, to list as a PSO an entity that attests that it meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for listing. A PSO can be ``delisted'' by the Secretary if it is found no longer to meet the requirements of the Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety Rule, or when a PSO chooses to voluntarily relinquish its status as a PSO for any reason. AHRQ has accepted a notification of voluntary relinquishment from the Northern Metropolitan Patient Safety Institute of its status as a PSO, and has delisted the PSO accordingly.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking scientific information submissions from the public on Vitamin D and Calcium. Scientific information is being solicited to inform the Vitamin D and Calcium: A Systematic Review of Health Outcomes project, which is currently being conducted by the Evidence-based Practice Centers for the AHRQ Effective Health Care Program. Access to published and unpublished pertinent scientific information on vitamin D and calcium will improve the quality of this systematic review. AHRQ is conducting this systematic review pursuant to Section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Public Law 108-173, and Section 902(a) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 299a(a).