National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP): effective date provisions of coverage of certain vaccines to the vaccine injury table--HRSA. Final rule

Section 904(b) of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 provides for an excise tax for three new vaccines, effective August 6, 1997. Petitions for compensation for injuries or deaths related to hepatitis B, Hib, and varicella vaccines may now be filed under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). This technical amendment amends the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to include a date certain (August 6, 1997) in section 100.3(c) of the Vaccine Injury Compensation regulations, so that there will be no uncertainty as to the coverage of these three vaccines.     

Failure by certain charitable organizations to meet certain qualification requirements; taxes on excess benefit transactions--IRS. Correction to notice of proposed rulemaking

This document contains a correction to REG-245256-94, which was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, August 4, 1998 (63 FR 41486), relating to the excise taxes on excess benefit transactions.     

Interim procedures for certain health care workers--INS. Interim rule with request for comments

This interim rule, which has been drafted in consultation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), amends regulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Service or INS) in order to implement, on a temporary basis, certain portions of section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility act of 1996 (IIRIRA) as they relate to prospective immigrants. Section 343, which was codified at section 212(a)(5)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act or INA), provides that aliens coming to the United States to perform labor in covered health care occupations (other than as a physician) are inadmissible unless they present a certificate relating to their education, qualifications, and English language proficiency. This requirement is intended to ensure that aliens possess proficiency in the skills that affect the provision of health care services in the United States. This rule establishes a temporary mechanism to allow applicants for immigrant visas or adjustment of status in the fields of nursing and occupational therapy of satisfy the requirements of section 343 on a provisional basis. The Service expects to publish a proposed rule in the near future which will implement in full the provisions of section 343.     

Minimum funding requirements and minimum funding excise taxes--Internal Revenue Service. Notice of proposed rulemaking

This document contains proposed regulations relating to the minimum funding requirements for employee pension benefit plans, and to excise taxes for failure to meet the minimum funding standards. Changes to the applicable tax law were made by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The regulations would provide the public with guidance needed to comply with that Act and would affect all pension plans subject to the provisions of the Act. The proposed amendments would apply generally for plan years beginning after 1975, but earlier (or later) in the case of some plans as provided for meeting the minimum funding requirements under the Act. The proposed rules pertaining to the frequency of actuarial valuations, and to the time for making contributions, generally would not be effective prior to the publication of final regulations.     

Continuation coverage requirements of group health plans--IRS. Notice of proposed rulemaking

This document contains proposed regulations that provide guidance under section 4980B of the Internal Revenue Code on certain changes made by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, and the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 relating to the continuation coverage requirements applicable to group health plans. The regulations will generally affect sponsors of and participants in group health plans, and they provide plan sponsors and plan administrators with guidance necessary to comply with the law.     

Health care programs: fraud and abuse; revisions to the civil money penalty provisions relating to the misuse of certain names, symbols and emblems--HHS. Final rule

In accordance with amendments to section 1140 of the Social Security Act, resulting from the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994, this final rule makes a number of revisions to the civil money penalty authority regulations relating to the misuse of certain symbols, emblems and names. Among other revisions, this rule eliminates the annual cap on penalties, includes the words and letters of the Department and Medicaid under the prohibition, and redefines a violation with regard to mailings. In addition, this final rule serves to remove references to Social Security and the Social Security Administration (SSA) from the HHS/OIG penalty regulations. The penalty regulations addressing the misuse of certain words, letters, symbols and emblems for SSA and its programs are being set forth in a new part of the Code of Federal Regulations published elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register.     

Waiver of certain membership requirements for certain health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and state option for disenrollment restrictions for certain HMOs under Medicaid--HCFA. Final rule

These regulations revise current Medicaid rules to bring them into conformity with statutory changes that (1) expanded the waiver authority of the Secretary to permit certain health maintenance organizations (HMOs) meeting specified requirements to exceed the composition of enrollment limit, (2) permitted certain organizations to contract on a risk basis, (3) permitted continuation of benefits to recipients enrolled in certain organizations after they have lost entitlement to Medicaid, and (4) granted States the option of restricting a Medicaid enrollee's right to disenroll from certain types of risk HMOs and other organizations. The statutory changes that are reflected in these regulations were enacted in section 2364 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, as amended by section 9517 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 and section 4113 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. We are also making a technical correction concerning HMO and PHP contracts.     

Allotments from federal employees. Interim rule with request for comments

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing interim regulations dealing with the use of OPM's allotment authority to allow for pretax salary reductions as part of OPM's flexible benefits plan. Using an allotment from an employee's pay to the employing agency allows certain payments (e.g., employee health insurance premiums, contributions to a flexible spending arrangement, and contributions to a health savings account) to be paid with pretax dollars, as provided under section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, these regulations include certain policy clarifications and changes to make the regulations more readable.     

Medicare program; physicians' referrals; issuance of advisory opinions--HCFA. Final rule with comment period

This final rule with comment period incorporates into HCFA's regulations the provisions of section 1877(g)(6) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as added by section 4314 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Section 1877(g)(6) requires that the Secretary issue written advisory opinions to outside parties concerning whether the referral of a Medicare patient by a physician for certain designated health services (other than clinical laboratory services) is prohibited under the physician referral provisions in section 1877 of the Act. Section 1877 not only prohibits certain referrals under the Medicare program, but also affects Federal financial participation payments to States under the Medicaid program for medical assistance consisting of designated health services furnished as the result of certain physician referrals. This final rule sets forth the specific procedures HCFA will use to issue advisory opinions.     

Adjustment of status; certain H-1 nonimmigrant nurses--INS. Final rule

This final rule implements section 162(f) of the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90). Section 162(f) of IMMACT 90 retroactively amended the Immigration Nursing Relief Act of 1989 (INRA) to allow additional alien nurses, their spouses, and children to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. This rule establishes procedures for the adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident for these alien nurses and certain family members in the United States. This rule alleviates the critical shortage of nurses in the United States by allowing qualified registered nurses who had formerly been granted temporary employment authorization under the H-1 category the opportunity to live and work permanently in this country as lawful permanent residents, with the possibility of becoming United States citizens in the future. This rule also makes organizational, grammatical, and stylistic changes to agency regulations which will make them easier to read and use.     

对海上格式条款立法规制的完善

大量存在的海上格式条款在促进海上交易、提高效率的同时,引起交易方权利义务不平衡等许多问题。《海商法》对海上格式条款的规制不够完善。通过对海上格式条款存在的必然性、立法规制缺陷等的分析,可以明晰完善海上格式条款立法规制的意义,提出完善立法规制的具体建议。     

Accounting for long-term contract--Internal Revenue Service. Notice of proposed rulemaking

This document contains proposed amendments to regulations under sections 446, 451 and 471 of the Internal Revenue Code relating to accounting for long-term contracts. The proposed amendments would conform the regulations to section 229 of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 and would affect taxpayers who have long-term contracts whether or not they use a long-term contract method of accounting for such contracts.     

Medicaid program; State share of financial participation--HCFA. Interim final rule with comment

Under certain circumstances, States are currently permitted to use voluntary contributions (donated funds) from providers and all revenues from State-imposed taxes, as the State share of the costs of the Medicaid program. There is now widespread use of State donations or other voluntary provider payment programs that unfairly affect the Federal share of Federal Financial Participation (FFP). This practice circumvents the States' statutory obligation to expend funds for medical assistance. Therefore, effective January 1, 1992, this interim final rule requires that the amount of funds donated from Medicaid providers be offset from Medicaid expenditures incurred on or after this date before calculating the amount of FFP in Medicaid expenditures. It also interprets section 4701(b)(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, which added section 1903(i)(10) to the Social Security Act. Section 1903(i)(10), precludes Federal Financial Participation (FFP) in State payments to hospitals, nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded for facility expenditures that are attributable to provider-specific State taxes.     

禁止法律规避制度在中国国际私法中的地位——对《民法典草案》第九编禁止法律规避条款的思考

法律规避是国际民商事交往中一种常见的欺诈行为。在禁止法律规避的问题上,各国的国际私法理论、立法和实践各有不同的主张。在我国,现行司法解释关于禁止法律规避的规定尚不完善,拟以专编规定我国国际私法规范的民法典草案。对法律规避问题亦没有给予足够的重视。本文围绕禁止法律规避制度在中国国际私法中的地位问题,提出了禁止法律规避应当是我国国际私法中一项独立的、一般性的、非歧视性的制度的观点,并在分析《民法典草案》第九编的体例和内容的基础上,对如何完善我国国际私法中的禁止法律规避制度提出了相应的建议。     

Disclosure of medical information to the surrogate of a patient who lacks decision-making capacity. Final rule

This document amends Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations to reflect changes made by section 504 of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. Section 504 authorizes a VA practitioner, when the practitioner deems it necessary to ensure an informed medical decision, to share certain, otherwise protected medical information with the representative of a patient who lacks decision-making capacity. This rulemaking amends VA regulations consistent with this new authority.     

我国民法典视野下的数字内容瑕疵担保责任——基于欧盟背景下德国法的比较法考察

数字内容交易目前在全球数字化背景下蓬勃发展,其中,有关数字内容的瑕疵担保责任问题备受关注;立法上欧盟在新出台的《有关提供数字内容和服务的合同交易指令》中有三个条款对此作了专门规定,同时,德国也将此规定完全予以转化适用。基于现有欧盟背景下德国法有关数字内容瑕疵担保责任的比较分析,可知其不但能准确认定数字内容交易中的瑕疵形态与有效提供救济,而且有助于消费者保护。根据我国现有一般物之瑕疵担保规定并结合我国民法典编纂以及域外法经验,在解释论上,通过相关类案的比较分析,我国就此有借鉴适用的必要性;在立法论上,今后在我国《民法典》的解释与适用过程中,可先在《民法典(合同编)》司法解释中原则性地规定有关数字内容瑕疵担保责任,再另行制定具有针对性的单行法,从而有助于数字时代的我国消费者保护与数字经济发展。     

Exemption of work activity as a basis for a continuing disability review. Final rules

We are publishing these final rules to amend our regulations to carry out section 221(m) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Section 221(m) affects our rules for when we will conduct a continuing disability review if you work and receive benefits under title II of the Act based on disability. (We interpret this section to include you if you receive both title II disability benefits and title XVI (Supplemental Security Income (SSI)) payments based on disability.) It also affects our rules on how we evaluate work activity when we decide if you have engaged in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining whether your disability has ended. In addition, section 221(m) of the Act affects certain other standards we use when we determine whether your disability continues or ends. We are also amending our regulations concerning how we determine whether your disability continues or ends. These revisions will codify our existing operating instructions for how we consider certain work at the last two steps of our continuing disability review process. We are also revising our disability regulations to incorporate some rules which are contained in another part of our regulations and which apply if you are using a ticket under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (the Ticket to Work program). In addition, we are amending our regulations to eliminate the secondary substantial gainful activity amount that we currently use to evaluate work you did as an employee before January 2001.     

The Battle of the Forms—There Is a Purpose

This article provides an alternative approach to the daunting task of teaching business undergraduates a fundamental appreciation of the flexibility of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the ability of the UCC to adapt to the needs of commerce by facilitating fair, efficient transactions. Paradoxically, we suggest using one of the most difficult sections of the UCC, Section 2-207, the often discussed "Battle of the Forms," to make UCC concepts and the relationships of those concepts to modern business transactions easier to understand. This alternative approach is also designed to help students appreciate the challenges of establishing rules to assure fair and efficient transactions and how changes in the way transactions occur impact the laws and how the laws impact the changes. This article also presents exercises, questions, and illustrative flowcharts used successfully over several years in undergraduate business law classes. These tools produce an integrated method for presenting UCC Section 2-207. While no sane individual has ever professed a love for UCC study, students and faculty have expressed tolerance and a palpable appreciation for these methods.