Final rule: Veterans Care Agreements

This VA adopts as final an interim final rule that requires ( via MISSION Act) VA to enter into agreements with outside network to furnish required care and services when such care and services are not feasibly available to certain individuals through a VA facility, a contract, or a sharing agreement. This final rule establishes parameters of those agreements, to include: establishing a certification process for providers who will furnish such care or services; establishing a methodology by which rates will be calculated for payment of care or services under an agreement; and establishing an administrative process for adjudicating disputes arising under or related to such agreements, including those pertaining to claims for payment for care or services provided under an agreement.

Notice: Continuation of Temporary Protected Status and related documentation for Certain TPS beneficiaries.

This notice provides a 15-month automatic extension of Temporary Protected Status for all current beneficiaries of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Nepal and Sudan. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a country designated for TPS under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or to eligible persons without nationality who last resided in the designated country. During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are authorized to obtain Employment Authorization Documents, so long as they continue to meet the requirements of TPS.

Final rule: Medicare Program; FY 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, Hospice and Home Health Quality Reporting Program Requirements

This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year 2022. In addition, this rule makes permanent selected regulatory blanket waivers that were issued to Medicare-participating hospice agencies during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and updates the hospice conditions of participation. This rule updates the Hospice Quality Reporting Program and finalizes changes beginning with the January 2022 public reporting for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program to address exceptions related to the COVID-19 PHE

Final rule: Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program and Value-Based Purchasing Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2022; and Technical Correction to Long-Term Care Facilities Physical Environment Requirements

This final rule updates the payment rates used under the prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for fiscal year (FY) 2022. . In addition, the final rule includes a forecast error adjustment for FY 2022, updates the diagnosis code mappings used under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), rebates and revises the SNF market basket, implements a recently-enacted SNF consolidated billing exclusion along with the required proportional reduction in the SNF PPS base rates, and includes a discussion of a PDPM parity adjustment.

Proposed rule: Medicare Program; CY 2022 Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Provider Enrollment Regulation Updates; Provider and Supplier Prepayment and Post-payment Medical Review Requirements.

The proposed rule addresses: changes to the physician fee schedule (PFS); other changes to Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure that payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice, the relative value of services, and changes in the statute; Medicare Shared Savings Program requirements; updates to the Quality Payment Program; Medicare coverage of opioid use disorder services furnished by opioid treatment programs; updates to certain Medicare provider enrollment policies; requirements for prepayment and post payment medical review activities; requirement for electronic prescribing for controlled substances for a covered Part D drug under a prescription drug plan, or a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plan; updates to the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System; changes to the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) expanded model; and amendments to the physician self-referral law regulations.

Notice of proposed rulemaking: Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

This document proposes regulations to implement an Executive order titled “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors,” which was signed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on April 27, 2021. The Executive order states that the Federal Government's procurement interests in economy and efficiency are promoted when the Federal Government contracts with sources that adequately compensate their workers. The Executive order therefore seeks to raise the hourly minimum wage paid by those contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered Federal contracts to $15.00 per hour, beginning January 30, 2022; and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary).

Proposed rule: Rate Update; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model Requirements and Proposed Model Expansion; Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements; Home Infusion Therapy Services Requirements; Survey and Enforcement Requirements for Hospice Programs; Medicare Provider Enrollment Requirements; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Program Requirements; and Long-term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program Requirements

This proposed rule would set forth routine updates to the home health and home infusion therapy services payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2022 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

Agency Order: Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19

CDC announced the extension of an Order under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act to temporarily halt residential evictions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, effective July 1, 2021, through July 31, 2021.

Proposed rule: Reinstatement of HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Standard

This proposed rule cancels the disparate impact rule changes brought by the Trump administration in 2020, instead of reinstating the agency’s 2013 disparate impact requirements because the 2020 rule never took effect, HUD's regulatory action simply recodifies the 2013 Disparate Impact rule.

Interim final rule; request for comments: Occupational Exposure to COVID-19; Emergency Temporary Standard

This interim final rule with comments protects healthcare and healthcare support service workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19 in settings where people with COVID-19 are reasonably expected to be present. During the period of the emergency standard, covered healthcare employers must develop and implement a COVID-19 plan to identify and control COVID-19 hazards in the workplace. Covered employers must also implement other requirements to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in their workplaces, related to the following: Patient screening and management; Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions; personal protective equipment (PPE), including facemasks or respirators; controls for aerosol-generating procedures; physical distancing of at least six feet, when feasible; physical barriers; cleaning and disinfection; ventilation; health screening and medical management; training; anti-retaliation; recordkeeping; and reporting