Department of Veterans Affairs 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Commission on Care, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee have received the final report on the independent assessment of VA health care processes as required under Section 201 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA). This Notice announces the public release of the report, entitled Independent Assessment of the Health Care Delivery Systems and Management Process of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Independent Assessment Report), on a VA Web site.

This document adopts as a final rule, with changes, an interim final rule amending the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical regulations to freeze the copayments required for certain medications provided by VA until December 31, 2015. Under that interim final rule, copayment amounts were maintained at the same rates as they were in 2014 (which were $8 for veterans in priority groups 2-6 and $9 for veterans in priority groups 7 and 8), and would have increased based on the prescription drug component of the Medical Consumer Price Index (CPI-P) on January 1, 2016. This final rule extends the current freeze for copayments through December 31, 2016.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the information needed for Veterans, Veteran Representatives and health care providers to request reimbursement from the federal government for emergency services at a private institution.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each extension collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the information needed for Veterans, Veteran Representatives and health care providers to request reimbursement from the federal government for emergency services at a private institution.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to revise the portion of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (Rating Schedule) that addresses the endocrine system. The intended effects of these changes are to update medical terminology, add medical conditions not currently in the Rating Schedule, revise the criteria to reflect medical advances since the last revision in 1996, and clarify the criteria.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552(e)(4)) requires that all agencies publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence and character of their systems of records. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending the system of records, known as ``Health Care Provider Credentialing and Privileging Records-VA'' (77VA10Q) as set forth in the Federal Register 73 FR 16097 dated 3/26/08. VA is amending the system notice by revising the paragraphs on System Number, System Location, Categories of Individuals Covered by the System, and Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System. VA is republishing the system notice in its entirety at this time.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the availability of 1-year renewal funding in fiscal year (FY) 2015 for the 21 currently operational FY 2014 VA Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Special Need Grant Recipients and their collaborative VA Special Need partners (as applicable) to make re-applications for assistance under the Special Need Grant Component of VA's Homeless Providers GPD Program. The focus of this NOFA is to encourage applicants to continue to deliver services to the homeless Special Need Veteran population as outlined in their current Special Need application. This NOFA contains information concerning the program, application process, and amount of funding available.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to reorganize, update (based on revisions to statutory authority), and clarify its regulations that govern paying per diem to State homes providing nursing home and adult day health care to eligible veterans. The reorganization will improve consistency and clarity throughout these State home programs. We propose to revise the regulations applicable to adult day health care programs of care so that States may establish diverse programs that better meet participants' needs for socialization and maximize their independence. Currently, we require States to operate these programs exclusively using a medical supervision model. We expect that these liberalizing changes would result in an increase in the number of States that have adult day health care programs. We also propose to establish new regulations governing the payment of per diem to State homes providing domiciliary care to eligible veterans, because the current regulations are inadequate. Moreover, we propose to eliminate the regulations governing per diem for State home hospitals because there are no longer any State home hospitals. In general, this rulemaking is consistent with current regulations and policies, and we do not expect that these proposed rules would have a negative impact on State homes; rather, we believe that these proposed regulations would clarify current law and policy, which should improve and simplify the payment of per diem to State homes, and encourage participation in these programs.

On June 15, 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a document in the Federal Register (75 FR 33704), amending its loan guaranty regulations to eliminate redundancies in the regulations that were a result of a new electronic reporting system. At that time, we failed to update the cross-reference citations within the redesignated sections. On October 22, 2010 (75 FR 65238), Sections 36.4301 through 36.4323(e) were amended to replace the incorrect cross-reference citations with the accurate, updated cross-references. This document corrects the remaining redesignated sections (Sec. 36.4324 through Sec. 36.4393) to contain the correct and updated cross-reference citations. These nonsubstantive changes are made for clarity and accuracy.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend the portion of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD or rating schedule) that addresses the organs of special sense and schedule of ratingseye. The purpose of these changes is to incorporate medical advances that have occurred since the last review, update current medical terminology, and provide clear evaluation criteria. The proposed rule reflects advances in medical knowledge, recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and comments from subject matter experts and the public garnered as part of a public forum. The public forum, focusing on revisions to the organs of special sense and schedule of ratings for eye disabilities, was held on January 19-20, 2012.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a collection of information notice in a Federal Register February 19, 2015, that contained an error. The notice incorrectly stated the agency as ``Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs.'' This document corrects the error by correcting the name of the agency.

VA OSDBU is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed new collection of information and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to (1) determine the return on investment (ROI) provided by the National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), other Federal agencies, and small and large business attendees, (2) have a mechanism that allows to share ROI and satisfaction levels with potential attendees in order to make informed decisions regarding their participation in future NVSBEs.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that The Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness, Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations concerning the provisions of health care to birth children of Vietnam veterans and veterans of covered service in Korea diagnosed with spina bifida, except for spina bifida occulta, and certain other birth defects. The proposed changes would more clearly define the types of health care VA provides, including day health care and health- related services, which VA would define as homemaker or home health aide services that provide assistance with Activities of Daily Living or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living that have therapeutic value. We would also make changes to the list of health care services that require preauthorization by VA.

The Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)) requires that all agencies publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence and character of their systems of records. Notice is hereby given that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing a new system of records entitled ``Inquiry Routing & Information System (IRIS)-VA'' (151VA005OP6). This system was previously listed as 151VA005N and was published in the Federal Register/Vol. 73, No. 49/Wednesday, March 12, 2008/Notices. The time elapsed since its original publication requires that a new notice be published as 151VA005OP6.