Rule2022-16968
Implementation of HAVANA Act of 2021
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 9, 2022
Effective
August 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
This document supplements the interim final rule (IFR) published by the Department of State (the Department) on June 30, 2022, implementing the HAVANA Act of 2021. The Act provides authority for the Secretary of State and other agency heads to provide payments to certain individuals who have incurred qualifying injuries to the brain. The Department is modifying one provision of the IFR relating to the Board certification of the physician who is required to assess and diagnose an individual's qualifying injury to the brain and who completes the DS-4316, "Eligibility Questionnaire for HAVANA Act Payments". The updated regulation provides that physicians may be certified by either the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) or the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 48444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16968]
[[Page 48444]]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 135
[Public Notice: 11807]
RIN 1400-AF52
Implementation of HAVANA Act of 2021
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Supplemental interim final rule.
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SUMMARY: This document supplements the interim final rule (IFR)
published by the Department of State (the Department) on June 30, 2022,
implementing the HAVANA Act of 2021. The Act provides authority for the
Secretary of State and other agency heads to provide payments to
certain individuals who have incurred qualifying injuries to the brain.
The Department is modifying one provision of the IFR relating to the
Board certification of the physician who is required to assess and
diagnose an individual's qualifying injury to the brain and who
completes the DS-4316, ``Eligibility Questionnaire for HAVANA Act
Payments''. The updated regulation provides that physicians may be
certified by either the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
(ABPN) or the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
(ABPMR).
DATES: Effective August 15, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Ware Harris, Senior Advisor,
Health Incidents Response Task Force, 202-679-0127,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#92dad3c0e7fef7dbfcf4fdd2e1e6f3e6f7bcf5fde4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="723a3320071e173b1c141d3201061306175c151d04">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is amending the interim final
rule that it published June 30, 2022 at 87 FR 38981. The text of the
interim rule remains unchanged, except for certain provisions in Sec.
135.3. The Department is providing that either physicians currently
certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (APBN) or
the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) may
assess an individual's qualifying injury to the brain and complete the
DS-4316, ``Eligibility Questionnaire for HAVANA Act Payments''. The DS-
4316 will also be modified to reflect this regulatory change.
The Department is publishing this Supplemental IFR both in response
to public comments advocating for this addition and additional
corroborative information from medical providers. The Department has
consulted with officials at several prominent medical centers. Based on
those inquiries, it appears that the majority of patients who have
reported anomalous health incidents were seen by either a neurologist
certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) or
by a physician certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (ABPMR). The Department believes that it would be in the
best interest of the public and affected community if, on the effective
date of the IFR, part 135 provided that patients could be assessed by
physicians currently certified by either ABPN or ABPMR.
The comment period for the IFR closed on August 1, 2022, and the
Department will publish a final rule addressing the other relevant
comments in the near future.
Regulatory Analyses
The regulatory analyses included in the IFR are adopted herein,
supplemented by the following comments. With respect to the
Administrative Procedure Act, this Supplemental IFR is a technical
amendment to the IFR, which was a rule relating to public benefits and
therefore exempt from the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553. See 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(2). Since the IFR and this Supplemental IFR are exempt from the
entirety of Sec. 553 pursuant to Sec. 553(a)(2), the provisions of
Sec. 553(d) do not apply. This Supplemental IFR will be in effect on
August 15, 2022, with the IFR.
With respect to Executive Order 12866, the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs has designed this Supplemental IFR ``non-
significant''.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 135
Federal retirees, Government employees, Health care.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department
of State amends 22 CFR part 135 as follows:
PART 135--IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HAVANA ACT OF 2021
0
1. The authority citation for part 135 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2651a; 22 U.S.C. 2680b.
0
2. Amend Sec. 135.3 by revising paragraphs (a) through (c) and
paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 135.3 Eligibility for payments by the Department of State.
(a) The Department of State may provide a payment to covered
individuals, as defined herein, if the qualifying injury to the brain
was assessed and diagnosed in person by a currently board-certified
neurologist from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
or a physician currently certified by the American Board of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR), occurred on or after January 1,
2016, and while the individual was a covered employee of the
Department.
(b) The Department of State may provide a payment to covered
employees, as defined herein, if the qualifying injury to the brain was
assessed and diagnosed in person by a currently board-certified
neurologist from the ABPN or a physician currently certified by the
ABPMR, occurred on or after January 1, 2016, and while the employee was
a covered employee of the Department.
(c) The Department of State may provide a payment to a covered
dependent, if the qualifying injury to the brain was assessed and
diagnosed in person by a currently board-certified neurologist from the
ABPN or a physician currently certified by the ABPMR, occurred on or
after January 1, 2016, and the dependent's sponsor was a covered
employee of the Department at the time of the dependent's injury.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) Whether the Department of Labor (Workers' Compensation) has
determined that the requestor has no reemployment potential, or the
Social Security Administration has approved the requestor for Social
Security Disability Insurance, or the requestor's ABPN-certified
neurologist or ABPMR-certified physician has certified that the
individual requires a full-time caregiver for activities of daily
living, as defined by the Katz Index of Independence of Daily Living.
* * * * *
Kevin E. Bryant,
Deputy Director, Office of Directives Management, U.S. Department of
State.
[FR Doc. 2022-16968 Filed 8-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-10-P
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