Unknown. Notification of change to agency practice
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/register/2019/01/28/2018-28285A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
--- schema: federal-register doc_type: fedreg source_file: FR-2019-01-28.xml --- 84 18 Monday, January 28, 2019 Contents Centers Disease Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NOTICES Meetings: Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 426-427 2019-00196 Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, Subcommittee on Procedures Review, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 426 2019-00195 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 427-428 2019-00197 Disease, Disability, and Injury Prevention and Control Special Emphasis Panel, 428 2019-00198 Commerce Commerce Department See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration See Patent and Trademark Office Copyright Office Copyright Office, Library of Congress NOTICES Intent to Audit, 435-436 2019-00226 Education Department Education Department PROPOSED RULES Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, 409 2019-00256 NOTICES Applications for New Awards:
Competitive Grants for State Assessments Program, 420-424 2019-00217 Applications for Selection as Performance Partnership Pilots: Disconnected Youth, 412-420 2019-00200 Energy Department Energy Department NOTICES Record of Decision: Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Approach at the Hanford Site, Washington, 424-425 2019-00230 Health and Human Health and Human Services Department See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention See National Institutes of Health Interior Interior Department PROPOSED RULES Freedom of Information Act Regulations, 409-410 2019-00264 Library Library of Congress See Copyright Office, Library of Congress National Institute National Institutes of Health NOTICES Meetings:
Center for Scientific Review, 429, 431-435 2019-00167 2019-00171 2019-00172 2019-00173 2019-00208 2019-00209 2019-00210 2019-00215 2019-00216 Fogarty International Center, 428-429 2019-00211 National Cancer Institute, 429-430 2019-00161 2019-00162 2019-00163 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 431 2019-00174 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 431-432, 434-435 2019-00164 2019-00165 2019-00166 2019-00175 National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 433-435 2019-00168 2019-00176 National Institute of Mental Health, 432-433 2019-00169 2019-00170 National Institute of Nursing Research, 429 2019-00213 National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 430 2019-00212 National Oceanic National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RULES Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region:
Commercial Trip Limit Reduction for Spanish Mackerel in the Atlantic Southern Zone; Trip Reductions, 407-408 2019-00225 Patent Patent and Trademark Office NOTICES Expiration of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program, 411-412 2019-00201 Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 411 2019-00202 Veteran Affairs Veterans Affairs Department RULES Confidentiality of certain medical records under the MISSION Act, 407 2018-28285 Reader Aids Consult the Reader Aids section at the end of this issue for phone numbers, online resources, finding aids, and notice of recently enacted public laws.
To subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents electronic mailing list, go to https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USGPOOFR/subscriber/new, enter your e-mail address, then follow the instructions to join, leave, or manage your subscription. 84 18 Monday, January 28, 2019 Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 Confidentiality of Certain Medical Records Under the MISSION Act AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notification of change to agency practice.
SUMMARY: This Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA)document provides an update to VA's requirements for obtaining a signed release of information for third party billing practices from VA beneficiaries with a sensitive diagnosis under the United States Code to align with the amendments made by the VA MISSION Act of 2018. DATES: Effective January 28, 2019. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Adams, Office of Community Care (10D), Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, *Jennifer.Adams26@va.gov,*
(615)355-1539. This is not a toll free number. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 6, 2018, section 132 of Public Law 115-182, the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 (MISSION Act), amended 38 U.S.C. 7332, *Confidentiality of certain medical records,* which protects certain sensitive diagnoses ( *i.e.,* drug abuse, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, or sickle cell anemia) from being disclosed unless expressly authorized by the patient. The VA Mission Act of 2018 amended section 7332 by providing a new exception to the requriment that a patient must expressely authorize VA to disclose medical records containing a sensitive diagnosis. The exception removed VA's requirement when VA is billing a third-party for medical care cost recovery. In addition to this document, VA will announce these changes on Veteran-facing websites to reach as many VA beneficiaires as possible. VA will also conduct a briefing with Veteran Service Organizations to ensure they are informed of the changes. For any VA beneficiary who has previously signed a release of information declining to allow VA to bill encounters containing a sensitive diagnosis, VA will provide a one-time notification prior to submitting claims with a sensitive diagnosis to a third-party health insurer. The written notification will include a summary of the new law, how the change affects the patient, and a description of the types of services affected by the change. After all of the aforementioned notifications are complete, VA will begin submitting claims to health insurance companies for encounters with dates of service on or after the publication date of this document in the **Federal Register** that contain a sensitive diagnosis without a signed release of information. While VA's billing authorities allow for a window of up to 6 years to bill a health insurance company for services provided, VA will not pursue any back billing for these services unless a signed Request For and Authorization to Release Medical Records or Health Information (VHA-10-5345) form for such release has been received from the patient. All required payer policies still apply to any services submitted for reimbursement. Signing Authority The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robert L. Wilkie, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this document on December 21, 2018, for publication. Dated: December 21, 2018. Luvenia Potts, Program Specialist, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs. [FR Doc. 2018-28285 Filed 1-25-19; 8:45 am]
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