✈️Summary of FAA's New Falsification Regulations for Aviation
FAA is amending, restructuring, and consolidating the falsification regulations presently located throughout title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Regarding 14 CFR chapter I, this rule eliminates inconsistencies among the various falsification regulations and associated sanctions; consolidates all existing falsification regulations into one part under 14 CFR chapter I to standardize the existing falsification regulations; and ensures that falsification-related conduct not addressed by pertinent current regulations is covered. This rule also creates a falsification prohibition applicable to the regulations governing commercial space transportation.
Learn More⚖️Department of Defense Rule Change on Gender Terminology in Litigation
In accordance with the Executive Order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," this amendment rule removes text in this CFR part that promotes or otherwise inculcates gender ideology. This change is purely administrative.
Learn More🏥TRICARE Regulation Expands Coverage for Clinical Trials
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) issues this final rule regarding circumstances under which services and supplies related to emerging treatments may be covered under the TRICARE program. This rule finalizes provisions published in two interim final rules (IFRs) with request for comment, which temporarily added coverage for the treatment use of investigational drugs under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized expanded access (EA) programs when for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and permitted coverage of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)-sponsored clinical trials for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. This final rule discusses the DoD's decision not to make permanent the coverage of treatment use of investigational drugs under FDA EA programs while updating language for care associated with their administration and broadens the COVID-19 clinical trial benefit to include coverage of clinical trials sponsored or approved by any National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center or Institute to treat or prevent infectious diseases associated with a pandemic or epidemic. Lastly, the final rule expands TRICARE's clinical trial benefit by covering services and supplies provided in conjunction with Phase I, II, III, and IV clinical trials that are NIH-sponsored or approved and that involve a new treatment or cure for a specific condition or the treatment of a currently uncontrolled symptom or aspect of that condition, provided that the condition is severely debilitating, life- threatening, or a rare disease.
Learn More⚠️NRC Amends Regulations Under Administrative False Claims Act
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act (PFCRA) regulations to ensure compliance with the Administrative False Claims Act of 2023 (AFCA). The AFCA requires agencies to review and update existing regulations to ensure compliance with the AFCA amendments. This final rule includes changes to the NRC's PFCRA regulations required to meet the AFCA amendments and includes edits to correct typographical errors.
Learn More🚫DEA Revokes Registration for Healthcare Fraud
The Drug Enforcement Administration has revoked the registration of Mark Agresti, M.D., due to healthcare fraud convictions. The order highlights the implications of mandatory exclusions from Medicare and Medicaid, emphasizing the stringent standards required for trustworthiness among healthcare providers and the consequences of failing to meet these standards.
Learn More🏥Medicare and Medicaid Proposed Rule on Home Health Payment Updates
This proposed rule would set forth routine updates to the Medicare home health payment rates in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. In addition, this proposed rule proposes permanent and temporary behavior adjustments and proposes to recalibrate the case-mix weights and update the functional impairment levels; comorbidity subgroups; and low-utilization payment adjustment (LUPA) thresholds for CY 2026. Lastly, this proposed rule proposes policy changes to the face-to-face encounter policy. It also proposes changes to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP) and the expanded Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model requirements. In addition, it would update the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program (CBP). Lastly it proposes: a technical change to the HH conditions of participation; updates to DMEPOS supplier conditions of payment; updates to provider and supplier enrollment requirements; and changes to DMEPOS accreditation requirements.
Learn More🌾Proposed Rule to Rescind H-2A Labor Regulation Requirements
The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers) and enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) that would rescind provisions contained within a final rule published by the Department on April 29, 2024, which adopted a number of unnecessary, burdensome, and costly requirements on employers. Specifically, these provisions include, but are not limited to, substantial new requirements associated with the material terms and conditions offered by employers to H-2A workers that are not commonly provided to other U.S. workers, including progressive discipline policies for cause-based employment terminations, anti-retaliation measures for certain workers engaged in self-organization and other concerted activities, and expanding the authority and scope for a State Workforce Agency (SWA) to discontinue employment services to employers, which prevents those employers from accessing the H-2A program, while eliminating employers' option to request a hearing prior to the SWA's final determination. Further, the final rule imposed extensive highly-sensitive data collection requirements on employers related to their use of foreign labor recruiters, including personal names and physical addresses abroad, as well as detailed personal information associated with all owners of the employers, operators of the place(s) of employment, and supervisor(s) and manager(s) of workers employed under the terms of the work contract, with very limited or no practical utility to the agency's statutory decision making. A brief summary of this rulemaking can be found at www.regulations.gov by searching by the RIN: 1205-AC25.
Learn More💰Analysis of Inflation Adjustment to Civil Monetary Penalties Regulation
The Department of the Treasury ("Department" or "Treasury") publishes this final rule to adjust its civil monetary penalties ("CMPs") for inflation as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (collectively referred to herein as "the Act").
Learn More⚖️New Regulations under the Administrative False Claims Act
The Railroad Retirement Board amends its regulations to implement statutory amendments to the Administrative False Claims Act. These amendments revise and remove procedures under the Administrative False Claims Act that are no longer applicable due to statutory changes and implement new procedures allowing administrative false claims to be referred to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals for adjudication.
Learn More🌾Simplifying Agriculture Regulations
FSA is in the process of reviewing all regulations within its purview to reduce regulatory burdens and costs. Pursuant to this review, FSA has identified the following obsolete, unnecessary, and outdated provisions in title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR). FSA is removing these provisions to streamline and clarify the dictates of title 7. The changes in this rule will have no impacts on past or present FSA customers.
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