🏥Proposed Changes to Medicare Hospital Payment Systems for 2026
This proposed rule would revise the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital- related costs of acute care hospitals; make changes relating to Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals; update the payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs); update and make changes to requirements for certain quality programs; and make other policy-related changes.
Learn More🏥Proposed Medicare Payment System Updates for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
This proposed rule would update the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026. As required by statute, this proposed rule includes the proposed classification and weighting factors for the IRF prospective payment system's case-mix groups and a description of the methodologies and data used in computing the prospective payment rates for FY 2026. It also continues the second year of the 3-year phaseout of the rural adjustment, which began in FY 2025. Additionally, the proposed rule includes updates to the IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP).
Learn More📜Technical Amendment to Federal Employee Complaint Regulation
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is issuing this technical amendment to correct a statutory citation in its regulation governing the filing of complaints of prohibited personnel practices and other prohibited activities.
Learn More💵Proposed Medicare Payment Updates for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities
This rulemaking proposes to update the prospective payment rates, the outlier threshold, and the wage index for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPFs), which include psychiatric hospitals and excluded psychiatric units of an acute care hospital or critical access hospital. This rulemaking also proposes to revise the payment adjustment factors for teaching status and for IPFs located in rural areas. These proposed changes would be effective for IPF discharges occurring during the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. We are proposing to make changes to measures used in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Program, to update and codify the Extraordinary Circumstances Exception policy, and to solicit feedback through requests for information on future changes to the IPFQR Program.
Learn More🌬️EPA Approves Kansas Air Plan; Emission Inventory and Fees Revised
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final action to approve revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Operating Permits Program and the 112(l) plan submitted by the State of Kansas on February 20, 2023. The revised Kansas rules update the Class I emission fee and emissions inventory regulations, establish a Class II fee schedule and ensure that Kansas's Operating Permits Program is adequately funded. Approval of these revisions ensures consistency between the State and federally-approved rules and does not impact air quality.
Learn More🏠Proposed Amendments to Energy Standards for Manufactured Housing
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the compliance date for its manufactured housing energy conservation standards. Currently, manufacturers must comply with these standards on and after July 1, 2025, for Tier 2 homes and 60 days after the issuance of enforcement procedures for Tier 1 homes. DOE is proposing to delay the Tier 2 compliance date to allow DOE more time to consider the proposed enforcement procedures and comments submitted, and to evaluate appropriate next steps that provide clarity for manufacturers and other stakeholders.
Learn More📦Updates on Postal Service Contract Claims and Purchasing Regulations
The Postal Service is revising its purchasing regulations governing contract claims and disputes to modify the required language to be included in contracting officer's final decisions, and to make other clarifying updates.
Learn More💰FCC Adjusts Application Fees by 17.41% for 2024-2025
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) revises its Schedule of Application Fees to adjust for increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Learn More💰Proposed Changes to Capital Plan Rule and Stress Capital Buffer
The Board is inviting public comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking (the proposal) that would amend the calculation of the Board's stress capital buffer requirement applicable to certain large bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, U.S. intermediate holding companies of foreign banking organizations, and nonbank financial companies supervised by the Board to reduce the volatility of the stress capital buffer requirement. The proposal would use the average of the maximum common equity tier 1 capital declines projected in each of the Board's prior two annual supervisory stress tests to inform a firm's stress capital buffer requirement. The proposal would also extend the annual effective date of the stress capital buffer requirement by one quarter, to January 1, to provide additional time for firms to comply with the requirement. In addition, the proposal would make changes to the FR Y-14A/Q/M reports to collect additional net income data that would improve the accuracy of the stress capital buffer requirement calculation, as well as remove data items that are no longer needed to conduct the supervisory stress test. The changes in the proposal are not designed to materially affect overall capital requirements and would decrease regulatory reporting burden.
Learn More🚫Proposed Withdrawal of Energy Standards for Portable Electric Spas
DOE is proposing to withdraw its prior determination that portable electric spas ("PESs") qualify as covered products under Part A of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended ("EPCA").
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