Department of Health and Human Services December 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the 2019 meetings of the Physician- Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC). These meetings will include deliberation and voting on proposals for physician-focused payment models (PFPMs) submitted by individuals and stakeholder entities. All meetings are open to the public.

Under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (Shared Savings Program), providers of services and suppliers that participate in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) continue to receive traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments under Parts A and B, but the ACO may be eligible to receive a shared savings payment if it meets specified quality and savings requirements. The policies included in this final rule provide a new direction for the Shared Savings Program by establishing pathways to success through redesigning the participation options available under the program to encourage ACOs to transition to two-sided models (in which they may share in savings and are accountable for repaying shared losses). These policies are designed to increase savings for the Trust Funds and mitigate losses, reduce gaming opportunities, and promote regulatory flexibility and free-market principles. This final rule also provides new tools to support coordination of care across settings and strengthen beneficiary engagement; and ensure rigorous benchmarking. In this final rule, we also respond to public comments we received on the extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policies for the Shared Savings Program that were used to assess the quality and financial performance of ACOs that were subject to extreme and uncontrollable events, such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires, in performance year 2017, including the applicable quality data reporting period for performance year 2017.

This document corrects technical and typographical errors in the final rule with comment period that appeared in the November 21, 2018 Federal Register titled ``Changes to Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs.''

National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) has scheduled a public meeting. Information about NACNEP and the agenda for this meeting can be found on the NACNEP website at https://www.hrsa.gov/advisory-committees/nursing/.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 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 (PRA).

In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following summary of a proposed collection for public comment.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on Form FDA 3601, entitled ``Medical Device User Fee Cover Sheet,'' which must be submitted along with certain medical device product applications, supplements, and fee payment of those applications.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) has determined the regulatory review period for XERMELO and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of an application to the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, for the extension of a patent which claims that human drug product.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) has determined the regulatory review period for RYDAPT and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of applications to the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce, for the extension of a patent which claims that human drug product.

Findings of research misconduct have been made on the part of Venkata Sudheer Kumar Ramadugu, Ph.D. (Respondent), former postdoctoral scientist in the Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan (UM). Dr. Ramadugu engaged in research misconduct in research supported by National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant R01 GM084018 and National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, grant R01 AG048934. The administrative actions, including debarment for a period of five (5) years, were implemented beginning on December 4, 2018, and are detailed below.

This notice announces the public meeting of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services (Advisory Council). The Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services provides advice on how to prevent or reduce the burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias on people with the disease and their caregivers. During the January meeting, the Research Subcommittee will be taking charge of the theme. The topics covered will include: Non- pharmacological interventions, pragmatic trials, and maximizing the quality of life for people living with dementia. The meeting will also include updates on work from the previous meetings and federal workgroup updates.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing data collection activities as part of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) to Serve TANF Recipients and Other Low Income Individuals. ACF has developed a multi-pronged research and evaluation approach for the HPOG Program to better understand and assess the activities conducted and their results. Two rounds of HPOG grants have been awardedthe first in 2010 (HPOG 1.0) and the second in 2015 (HPOG 2.0). There are federal evaluations associated with each round of grants. HPOG grants provide funding to government agencies, community- based organizations, post-secondary educational institutions, and tribal-affiliated organizations to provide education and training services to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals, including tribal members. Under HPOG 2.0, ACF provided grants to five tribal-affiliated organizations and 27 non-tribal entities. OMB previously approved data collection under OMB Control Number 0970-0462 for the HPOG 2.0 National and Tribal Evaluation. The first submission, approved in August 2015, included baseline data collection instruments and the grant performance management system. A second submission, approved in June 2017, included additional data collection for the National Evaluation impact study, the National Evaluation descriptive study, and the Tribal Evaluation. A third submission for National Evaluation impact study data collection was approved in June 2018. The proposed data collection activities described in this Federal Register Notice will provide data for the impact, descriptive, and cost benefit studies of the 27 non-tribal grantees participating in the National Evaluation of HPOG 2.0.