🏦Proposed Amendments to Community Reinvestment Act Regulations
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) propose to amend their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations by rescinding the final rule titled "Community Reinvestment Act" published in the Federal Register on February 1, 2024, and replacing it with the agencies' CRA regulations in effect on March 29, 2024, with certain conforming and technical amendments. The agencies are also proposing technical amendments to their regulations implementing the CRA sunshine requirements of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and the OCC is proposing technical amendments to its Public Welfare Investments regulation.
Learn More⚡Updates to RUS Electric Borrowers' Accounting Requirements
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD) mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a final rule with comment to update the accounting requirements for RUS Electric Program borrowers. These changes include adding new accounts to the Uniform System of Accounts (USoA), deleting obsolete accounts and clarifying instructions and definitions for the new and some existing accounts. In addition, new accounts and general instructions are being added for partially extinguished or forgiven debt.
Learn More🏥Proposed Changes to Medicare Outpatient Payment Regulations
This proposed rule would revise the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2026 based on our continuing experience with these systems. We also describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare services paid under the OPPS and those paid under the ASC payment systems. This proposed rule would also update and refine the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program, Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting Program, Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program, Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating, and hospitals to make public their standard charge information and enforcement of hospital price transparency. This rule also contains requests for information on measure concepts regarding Well-Being and Nutrition for consideration in future years for all three programs (OQR, REHQR, and ASCQR; expanding the method to control for unnecessary increases in the volume of covered OPD services to on- campus clinic visits; software as a service; and adjusting payment under the OPPS for services predominately performed in the ambulatory surgical center or physician office settings.
Learn More💰Proposed Medicare and Medicaid Payment Policies for CY 2026
This major proposed rule addresses: changes to the physician fee schedule (PFS); other changes to Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure that payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice, relative value of services, and changes in the statute; codification of establishment of new policies for: the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; the Ambulatory Specialty Model; updates to the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program expanded model; updates to drugs and biological products paid under Part B; Medicare Shared Savings Program requirements; updates to the Quality Payment Program; updates to policies for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers update to the Ambulance Fee Schedule regulations; codification of the Inflation Reduction Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 provisions; updates to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program.
Learn More🌾USDA Ends Race and Sex-Based Preferences in Assistance Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has independently determined that it will no longer employ the race- and sex-based "socially disadvantaged" designation to provide increased benefits based on race and sex in the programs at issue in this regulation. The USDA has faced a long history of litigation stemming from allegations of discrimination in the administration of its farm loan and benefit programs. However, over the past several decades, USDA has undertaken substantial efforts to redress past injustices, culminating in comprehensive settlements, institutional reforms, and compensatory frameworks. These actions collectively support the conclusion that past discrimination has been sufficiently addressed and that further race- and sex-based remedies are no longer necessary or legally justified under current circumstances.
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🏡Impact of New Market Study Requirement on Rural Housing Loans
The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD), within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a proposed rule to amend its regulation that will require applicants (lenders) to submit a market study as part of the complete application for the Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) loan guarantee. This change will require all applicants to use a market study when demonstrating market need for new construction.
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.
Learn More🏠USDA Updates Rules for Manufactured Housing Financing Options
The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is amending the current regulations for the Single Family Housing (SFH) Direct Loan Program and the SFH Guaranteed Loan Program. The intent of this final rule is to allow the Agency to give borrowers increased purchase options within a competitive market and increase adequate housing along with an enhanced customer experience with the SFH programs.
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