Department of Health and Human Services July 10, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On May 11, 2015, the Administrator of the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program received a petition (Petition 008) to add autoimmune diseases to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions (List). Upon reviewing the information provided by the petitioner, the Administrator has determined that Petition 008 is not substantially different from Petition 007, which also requested the addition of autoimmune diseases. The Administrator recently published a response to Petition 007 in the Federal Register and has determined that Petition 008 does not provide additional evidence of a causal relationship between 9/11 exposures and autoimmune diseases. Accordingly, the Administrator finds that insufficient evidence exists to request a recommendation of the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), to publish a proposed rule, or to publish a determination not to publish a proposed rule.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the proposed extension of the information collection entitled Evaluating the Effectiveness of Occupational Safety and Health Program Elements in the Wholesale Retail Trade Sector. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health seeks to continue its scientific intervention effectiveness research to support the evidenced based prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses in the wholesale/retail sector.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The ICR is for a revision to the use of the approved information collection assigned OMB control number 0990-0281, which expires on November 30, 2015. Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, OS seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for companies and may also be available for licensing.

This proposed rule would update Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including the national, standardized 60- day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non- routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health agencies (HHAs), effective for episodes ending on or after January 1, 2016. As required by the Affordable Care Act, this proposed rule implements the third year of the four-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates. This proposed rule provides information on our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments. This proposed rule also proposes: reductions to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rate in CY 2016 and CY 2017 of 1.72 percent in each year to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (nominal case-mix growth) between CY 2012 and CY 2014; a HH value-based purchasing (HHVBP) model to be implemented beginning January 1, 2016 in which all Medicare-certified HHAs in selected states will be required to participate; changes to the home health quality reporting program requirements; and minor technical regulations text changes. Finally, this proposed rule would update the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking and provide an update on the Report to Congress regarding the home health (HH) study.