Office of the Secretary September 25, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.

This notice describes the adoption of Medicare's Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) adjustments for reimbursement under TRICARE's Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS). In recognition that the Defense Health Agency (DHA) strongly supports the implementation of value-based incentive programs, in accordance with Section 705(a) of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, the adoption of this model establishes a new value-based initiative within the TRICARE program, based on Medicare's similar pilot. In the Medicare HHVBP model, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determines a payment adjustment up to the maximum percentage, upward or downward, based on the Home Health Agency's (HHA) Total Performance Score (TPS). As a result, the model incentivizes quality improvements and encourages efficiency. States selected for participation in the Medicare HHVBP model include Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. CMS cannot release HHVBP adjustment factors to TRICARE, so Home Health Agencies (HHAs) in the participating states will be required to send their annual payment adjustment reports to the applicable TRICARE contractors prior to January 1 each year. Failure to submit the required payment adjustment documentation would result in full application of the negative adjustment factor for the calendar year. This requirement allows TRICARE to mirror Medicare's HHVBP payment adjustments. The TRICARE HHVBP model will only apply to Medicare- certified HHAs in the nine participating states. Specialized HHAs that qualify for corporate services provider status but are not Medicare- certified will continue to be reimbursed under the CHAMPUS Maximum Allowable Charge (CMAC) system and will not be subject to the TRICARE HHVBP model.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``State Training Provider Eligibility Collection,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Public comments on the ICR are invited.