Federal employees health benefits program: debarment--OPM. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to incorporate into regulations the statutory requirement that carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program may not deny claims for services or supplies due to the debarment of the providers who supplied them if the claimants could not have known that the provider was debarred. The purpose of these regulations is to comply with the provision of law that requires OPM to prescribe regulations on this issue.     

Federal employees health benefits children's equity. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to implement the Federal Employees Health Benefits Children's Equity Act of 2000, which was enacted October 30, 2000. This law mandates the enrollment of a Federal employee for self and family coverage in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, if the employee is subject to a court or administrative order requiring him or her to provide health benefits for his or her child or children and the employee does not provide documentation of compliance with the order.     

Federal employees health benefits program: effective dates--OPM. Proposed rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing proposed regulations to change the existing Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations concerning the effective date for new enrollments made by employees during the annual open season. These regulations would also change the effective date of open season changes in enrollment made by employees, annuitants, former spouses and individuals enrolled under the temporary continuation of coverage (TCC) provisions of FEHB law. The proposed regulations would standardize the effective date of most of these new enrollments or changes in enrollment. This would make it easier for employing offices and health plan carriers to administer the Program and reduce the potential for error in determining effective dates.     

Federal employees health benefits program; limitation on inpatient hospital charges and FEHB program payments--OPM. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations that implement section 7002(f) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. The law sets a limit on the charges and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) benefit payments for certain inpatient hospital services received by a retired enrolled individual. These regulations finalize interim regulations that defined a retired enrolled individual and set forth the circumstances under which the limit on charges and FEHBP benefit payments take effect.     

Federal employees health benefits acquisition regulation: Board of Contract Appeals. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is adopting as final,without change, the proposed rule published April 7, 2008 to remove the designation of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA)from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Acquisition Regulation(FEHBAR).     

Federal employees health benefits program: miscellaneous changes--Office of Personnel Management. Final rulemaking

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations which implement a number of miscellaneous changes to the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations. The regulations will improve the administration of the FEHB Program and result in better service to enrollees.     

Federal employees dental and vision insurance program. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to administer the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004, signed into law December 23, 2004. This law establishes dental and vision benefits programs for Federal employees, annuitants, and their eligible family members.     

Federal employees health benefits program: discontinuance of health plan in an emergency. Final regulation

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to amend the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) regulations regarding discontinuance of a health plan to include situations in which a health plan becomes incapacitated, either temporarily or permanently, as the result of a disaster.     

Federal employees health benefits program: limitation on physician charges and FEHB Program payments--Office of Personnel Management. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is making final its interim regulation that amends current Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations. The final regulation requires that the charges and FEHB fee-for-service plans' benefit payments for certain physician services furnished to retired enrolled individuals do not exceed the limits on charges and payments established under the Medicare fee schedule for physician services.     

Federal employees health benefits program; revision of contract cost principles and procedures, and miscellaneous changes. Final rule

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final regulation amending the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Acquisition Regulation (FEHBAR). This regulation provides additional contract cost principles and procedures for FEHB Program experience-rated contracts and is intended to clarify our requirements and enhance our oversight of FEHB carriers.     

Federal employees health benefits acquisition regulation: large provider agreements, subcontracts, and miscellaneous changes. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing this final regulation to amend the Federal Employees Health Benefits Acquisition Regulation (FEHBAR). It establishes requirements, including audit, for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) experience-rated carriers' Large Provider Agreements. It also modifies the dollar threshold for review of carriers' subcontract agreements; revises the definitions of Cost or Pricing Data and Experience-rate to reflect mental health parity requirements; updates the contract records retention requirement; updates the FEHB Clause Matrix; and conforms subpart and paragraph references to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) revisions made since we last updated the FEHBAR.     

Federal employees health benefits program; coverage of temporary employees--OPM. Interim rule with request for comments

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing interim regulations to clarify the eligibility of temporary employees to continue their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage when they become compensationers. These regulations are necessary to distinguish between retirement as an employee annuitant and "retirement" as a compensationer. OPM is also issuing regulations to allow temporary employees an opportunity to change health plans if their salary is insufficient to pay the premium withholdings, to show the effective date of such an enrollment change, and to provide for the termination of these employees' enrollment if they do not change health plans.     

Federal employees health benefits: payment of premiums for periods of leave without pay or insufficient pay. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final regulations to rewrite certain sections of the Federal regulations in plain language. These final regulations require Federal agencies to provide employees entering leave without pay (LWOP) status, or whose pay is insufficient to cover their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) premium payments, written notice of their opportunity to continue their FEHB coverage. Employees who want to continue their enrollment must sign a form agreeing to pay their premiums directly to their agency on a current basis, or to incur a debt to be withheld from their future salary. The purpose of this final regulation is to rewrite the existing regulations to ensure that employees who are entering LWOP status, or whose pay is insufficient to pay their FEHB premiums, are fully informed when they decide whether or not to continue their FEHB coverage.     

Federal sector equal employment opportunity. Final rule

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is publishing this final rule to implement the amendment of section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, under the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992. This rule continues the movement towards full integration of individuals with disabilities into the Federal workforce.     

Federal Employees Health Benefits program: direct payment of FEHB premiums for annuitants--OPM. Final rule

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is adopting its previously issued interim regulation that implements section 1 of Public Law 101-303. This section of law allows all annuitants to make direct payment of premiums for their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage when their annuity is too low to cover the insurance premiums. Previously, only annuitants in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) were allowed to make direct payment of their FEHB premiums.     

Age Discrimination in Employment Act; retiree health benefits. Final rule

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is publishing this final rule so that employers may create, adopt, and maintain a wide range of retiree health plan designs, such as Medicare bridge plans and Medicare wrap-around plans, without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). To address concerns that the ADEA may be construed to create an incentive for employers to eliminate or reduce retiree health benefits, EEOC is creating a narrow exemption from the prohibitions of the ADEA for the practice of coordinating employer-sponsored retiree health benefits with eligibility for Medicare or a comparable State health benefits program. The rule does not otherwise affect an employer's ability to offer health or other employment benefits to retirees, consistent with the law.     

Medicaid program: nurse-midwife services--HCFA. Final rule

In accordance with section 13605 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, this final rule expands coverage of nurse-midwife services under the Medicaid program by including coverage for those services that nurse-midwives perform outside the maternity cycle as allowed by State law and regulation. In addition, this rule includes several clarifying revisions to the Medicaid regulations.     

Medicare program; home health agencies: conditions of participation--HCFA. Final rule

This final rule responds to the major comments we received on an interim final rule that was published on August 14, 1989 (54 FR 33354). That interim final rule added requirements to the current conditions of participation for home health agencies (HHAs). Specifically, the rule specified requirements for protecting and promoting patient rights; training and competency evaluation of home health aides; notifying State entities responsible for the licensing or certification of HHAs of changes in ownership of the agency or management of the agency; including an individual's plan of care as part of the individual's clinical records; and operating and furnishing services in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations and with accepted professional standards and principles that apply to professionals furnishing home health services. Most of the provisions of the rule implemented section 930 of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-499), section 4021 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-203), and section 411(d) of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-360). This final rule implements changes, based on our review and consideration of the public comments, concerning patient notification of changes in payment liability, requirements for evaluators and instructors of home health aides, in-service training, and supervisory visits, and clarifies other home health issues.     

Chronic beryllium disease prevention program; worker safety and health program. Final rule

The Department of Energy (DOE) is today publishing a final rule to implement the statutory mandate of section 3173 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2003 to establish worker safety and health regulations to govern contractor activities at DOE sites. This program codifies and enhances the worker protection program in operation when the NDAA was enacted.