Federal-state joint board on universal service--FCC. Proposed rule; recommended decision

On November 24, 1998, the Federal-State Joint Board adopted a Second Recommended Decision regarding universal service. In this decision, the Joint Board made numerous recommendations on universal service issues. The Joint Board recommends a federal high cost support mechanism for non-rural carriers that enables rates to remain affordable; that the Commission replace the 25/75 jurisdictional division of responsibility for high cost support; that the Commission compute federal high cost support for non-rural carriers through a two-step process; and that the mechanisms outlined be reviewed no later than three years from July 1, 1999. The Commission seeks comment on the Second Recommended Decision.     

Compatibility of wireless services with enhanced 911--FCC. Proposed rule

The Commission seeks additional comment in wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) rulemaking proceeding with respect to an ex parte presentation filed by Ad Hoc Alliance for Public Access to 911 (Alliance) on September 17, 1998. In its ex parte filing and its accompanying engineering report, Alliance has presented an approach under which the Commission would require that, if the signal from the user's provider is "inadequate" at the time a 911 call is placed through the use of an analog cellular handset, then the handset must have the capability to select automatically the strongest available compatible channel of communications for purpose of completing the 911 call. Additional comment is sought to assist the Commission in determining whether to adopt the approach presented by the Alliance in its September 17 ex parte filing. The effect of adopting the Alliance approach would be to improve reliability of 911 services to wireless customers.     

The development of technical and spectrum requirements for meeting federal, state and local public safety agency communication requirements through the year 2010, establishment of rules and requirements for priority access service--FCC. Proposed rule

The federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted a Third Notice of Proposed Rule Making ("Third Notice") contemporaneously with a First Report and Order ("First Report") that is summarized elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register. By its Third Notice, the Commission makes a range of proposals and seeks comment relating to public safety communications in the 746-806 MHz band ("700 MHz band") and in general. The Commission invites comment on how to license the 8.8 megahertz of 700 MHz band spectrum designated as reserved in the First Report and on whether to directly license each state or use a regional planning process to administer the nationwide interoperability frequencies (2.6 MHz of spectrum designated in the First Report) pursuant to the national interoperability plan to be established by the National Coordination Committee. The Third Notice also discusses protection requirements for the Global Navigation Satellite Systems and offers proposals to facilitate use of nationwide interoperability in public safety bands below 512 MHz. Finally, because many of the automated and intelligent machines and systems on which public safety entities depend for their operations were not designed to take into account the date change that will occur on January 1, 2000, the Commission also seeks comment on how best to ascertain the extent, reach, and effectiveness of Year 2000 compliance initiatives that have been or are being undertaken by public safety entities, to better understand the nature of the Year 2000 problem and the potential risks posed to public safety communications networks. This action addresses an urgent need for additional public safety radio spectrum and the need for nationwide interoperability among local, state, and federal entities. By this action, the Commission also takes additional steps toward achieving its goals of developing a flexible regulatory framework to meet vital current and future public safety communications needs and ensuring that sufficient spectrum to accommodate efficient, effective telecommunications facilities and services will be available to satisfy public safety communications needs into the 21st century.     

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); partial hospitalization--DoD. Final rule; delay of grace period

This document is to advise interested parties that the Director, OCHAMPUS is extending the grace period for partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) already accredited under the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) general hospital standards to obtain JCAHO accreditation under the Mental Health Manual. Due to the number of PHPs requesting JCAHO accreditation, an extension of the grace period is needed to allow sufficient time for PHPs to receive the mandatory JCAHO accreditation.     

Draft guideline for infection control in health care personnel, 1997--CDC. Notice

This notice is a request for review of and comment on the Draft Guideline for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel, 1997. The guideline consists of two parts: Part 1. "Infection Control Issues for Health Care Personnel, an Overview" and Part 2. "Recommendations for Prevention of Infections in Health Care Personnel", and was prepared by the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), the National Immunizations Program, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), CDC.     

Medicare program; Essential Access Community Hospitals (EACHs) and Rural Primary Care Hospitals (RPCHs)--HCFA. Correction of final rule

This notice corrects two technical errors in the regulations text we published on May 26, 1993 in a document entitled, "Essential Access Community Hospitals (EACHs) and Rural Primary Care Hospitals (RPCHs)."     

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); continued health care benefit program--DoD. Interim rule

This rule establishes a Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) for certain DoD health care beneficiaries who lose eligibility for health care in the Military Health Services System (MHSS). It provides for use of the CHAMPUS benefit structure and CHAMPUS rules and procedures for the CHCBP and seeks public comments on our plan to implement the Continued Health Care Benefit Program.     

Payment method for health care services under the Supplemental Health Care Program for Active Duty Members of the Uniformed Services; adoption of CHAMPUS procedures--DoD. Final rule amendment

On May 24, 1991 (56 FR 23800), the Department of Defense published a final rule on "Payment Method for Health Care Services Under the Supplemental Health Care Program for Active Duty Members of the Uniformed Services" concerning discharges occurring on or after June 24, 1991. Through an administrative error the effective date for the regulation should have been June 24, 1991, instead of May 24, 1991. This document is published to suspend the regulation.     

Questioning the Neutrality of Procedural Law: Internet Regulation in Europe through the Lenses of Bourdieu's Notion of Symbolic Capital

Abstract: The main question addressed in this article concerns the role of law in regulating the Internet in Europe, while the focus is on the European Commission in the process. The thesis advanced is that Bourdieu's notion of capital may offer a view radically different to understanding regulatory law as objective and neutral, and to conceiving action as being initiated to achieve certain policy outcomes. Based on the assumption that power is at the heart of action, the argument is that the European Commission is predominantly engaged in struggles to remain a crucial locus of governance and maximise its power as a major think‐tank. To follow this intuition, this article questions the extent to which decentralised regulatory techniques have been effective in weakening mechanisms of control, as power may now be exercised in novel and less visible ways and thus be misrecognised. Unravelling the processes that disguise the effects of power will be done by virtue of three case studies: Architectural solutions introduced in software by the industry with the aim to combat illegal copying, domain names allocation by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and content regulation in the context of the Safer Internet Action Plan.     

Beyond competition: the normative implications of consumer-driven health plans

The Federal Trade Commission/Department of Justice 2004 report Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition appeals to efficiency arguments in promoting a wide range of health care market reforms. But the market-based reforms discussed in Improving Health Care are not simply neutral with regard to equity in access to services; they are likely to have substantial and inequitable distributional effects. We use the case of consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), the pillar of the Bush administration's private-sector health reform efforts, to illustrate the limitations of viewing health policy reform through the lens of Improving Health Care. We conclude that the speculative efficiency gains from CDHPs need to be balanced against well-documented equity concerns within a normative framework. Moreover, other important ethical issues arise with regard to the risks imposed on the population by the introduction of policies that are based on a faith in markets rather than empirical evidence.     

完善新型农村合作医疗制度的路径选择——以吉林市为视角

实施新型农村合作医疗制度是一项农民得实惠、卫生事业得发展、党的政策得民心的惠民工程,因此,需要在初期运行取得一定绩效的基础上,把握新型农村合作医疗未来发展的方向和趋势,围绕农民最关心的问题进一步完善和发展,让更多的农民享受到新农合制度带来的好处,扩大新农合制度的成效。     

Data breaches. Final rule

This document adopts, without change, the interim final rule that was published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2007, addressing data breaches of sensitive personal information that is processed or maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This final rule implements certain provisions of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006. The regulations prescribe the mechanisms for taking action in response to a data breach of sensitive personal information.     

The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act. Department of Veterans Affairs. Final rule

This document amends Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations to reflect changes made by the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act. These changes concern payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouses of certain former prisoners of war; the provision of health care, education and home loan benefits to surviving spouses upon termination of their remarriages; and the addition of bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma to the list of diseases that VA presumes are the result of exposure to radiation during active military service.     

Cost principles for nonprofit organizations--Office of Management and Budget. Notice

This notice offers interested parties an opportunity to comment on a proposed revision to Circular A-122, "Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations." The proposed revision establishes special provisions for costs related to political advocacy. Similar revisions are being simultaneously proposed for civilian and defense contractors through appropriate actions by the Department of Defense, NASA and GSA, the three agencies with authority to issue procurement regulations. The purpose of these proposals is to ensure that federal tax dollars are not used, directly or indirectly, for the support of political advocacy. Over the past 25 years, the volume of federal activity conducted through grantees and contractors has dramatically grown. Sound management of federal grants and contracts has correspondingly gained in importance. The responsibility of the President through OMB to improve the management of the executive branch of government with a view to efficient and economical service, and to fulfill other statutory and constitutional responsibilities, extends to issues of grant and contract management no less than to issues of direct federal activity.     

Community residential care program and contract program for veterans with alcohol and drug dependence disorders--VA. Final rule

This document updates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations concerning the Community Residential Care Program and the Contract Program for Veterans with Alcohol and Drug Dependence Disorders by incorporating by reference relevant portions of the latest editions of the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code entitled "NFPA 101, Life Safety Code" and "NFPA 101A, Guide on Alternative Approaches to life Safety." This is intended to ensure that buildings used for treatment and residential services for veterans meet appropriate fire and safety standards. Also, this document amends the regulations for such programs by delegating authority to each of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Directors of the Veterans Health Administration to grant certain equivalencies or variances to building standards of the Life Safety Code. Further, this final rule does not adopt the portion of the proposed rule concerning the Adult Day Health Care Program since the Adult Day Health Care Program and the corresponding regulations are no longer in existence.     

Report on complementary/alternative health care and HIV/AIDS

In 2001, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network published a lengthy report on Complementary/Alternative Health Care and HIV/AIDS: Legal, Ethical & Policy Issues in Regulation. The document is the first in a series of papers to be produced by the Legal Network on priority legal and ethical issues related to HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and support. The article below summarizes the contents of the report.     

Health insurance issuers implementing medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Interim final rule with request for comments

This document contains the interim final regulation implementing medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements for health insurance issuers under the Public Health Service Act, as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act).     

Implementation of Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996: access to telecommunications services, telecommunications equipment, and customer premises equipment by persons with disabilities--FCC. Notice of proposed rulemaking

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is an important step in the Commission's effort to increase the accessibility of telecommunications services and equipment to Americans with disabilities. The NPRM proposes a framework for implementing section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Act), which requires telecommunications equipment manufacturers and service providers to ensure that their equipment and services are accessible to persons with disabilities, to the extent it is readily achievable to do so. In addition, if accessibility is not readily achievable, section 255 requires manufacturers and service providers to ensure compatibility with existing peripheral devices or specialized customer premises equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access, to the extent it is readily achievable to do so. The NPRM first explores the Commission's legal authority to establish rules implementing section 255. The NPRM then seeks comment on the interpretation of specific statutory terms that are relevant to the proceeding. Finally, the NPRM seeks comment on proposals to implement and enforce the requirement that telecommunications equipment and services be made accessible to the extent readily achievable. The actions proposed in the NPRM are needed to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind in the telecommunications revolution and consequently isolated from contemporary life.