Department of Health and Human Services January 18, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) has determined that SYMMETREL (amantadine hydrochloride), Syrup, 50 milligrams/5 milliliters (50 mg/5 mL), was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. This determination means that FDA will not begin procedures to withdraw approval of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) that refer to SYMMETREL, and it will allow FDA to continue to approve ANDAs that reference SYMMETREL if all other legal and regulatory requirements are met.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is issuing this notice to request public comment on a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (Draft PEA) for mosquito control activities funded by HHS/ CDC to Combat Zika Virus transmission in the United States. HHS/CDC prepared the draft PEA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and the HHS General Administration Manual (GAM) Part 30 Environmental Procedures, dated February 25, 2000.

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This rule finalizes changes to the pass-through payment transition periods and the maximum amount of pass-through payments permitted annually during the transition periods under Medicaid managed care contract(s) and rate certification(s). This final rule prevents increases in pass-through payments and the addition of new pass-through payments beyond those in place when the pass-through payment transition periods were established, in the final Medicaid managed care regulations effective July 5, 2016.

On Feb. 9, 2016, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposed policy changes to update and modernize the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records (42 CFR part 2). SAMHSA explained in the NPRM that these changes were intended to better align the regulations with advances in the U.S. health care delivery system while retaining important privacy protections for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders. The last substantive update to these regulations was in 1987. SAMHSA is issuing this Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to propose additional clarifications to the part 2 regulations as amended by the concurrently issued final rule. As noted in the final rule, 42 CFR part 2 Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records, questions raised by commenters highlighted varying interpretations of the 1987 rule's restrictions on lawful holders and their contractors and subcontractors' use and disclosure of part 2-covered data for purposes of carrying out payment, health care operations, and other health care related activities. In consideration of this feedback and given the critical role that third-party payers, other lawful holders, and their contractors, subcontractors, and legal representatives play in the provision of health care services, SAMHSA is issuing this SNPRM to seek further comments on our proposals to address and help clarify these matters before establishing any appropriate restrictions on disclosures to contractors, subcontractors and legal representatives.