Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 6021 

5. On page 77779, following the table 

titled ‘‘Table D2: Proposed Measure Set 

for the Expanded HHVBP Model’’, table 

note 3 ‘‘ 3https://www.cms.gov/files/ 

document/hh-qrp-specifications

potentiallypreventablehospitalizations.

pdf’’ is corrected to read ‘‘ 3https://

www.cms.gov/files/document/homehealth-outcome-measures-table-oasise2023.pdf’’. 

6. On page 77801, first column, first 

partial paragraph, line 4, the phrase ‘‘the 

iQIES).’’ is corrected to read ‘‘the 

iQIES.’’. 

7. On page 77802, 

a. First column, first full paragraph, 

line 32, the phrase ‘‘ ‘Sometimes’;’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘ ‘Sometimes’.’’. 

b. Second column, first full 

paragraph, line 11, the phrase ‘‘top-box 

option: 9–10)’’ is corrected to read ‘‘topbox options: 9–10)’’. 

8. On page 77807, second column, 

second full paragraph, line 5, the term 

‘‘BBVs’’ is corrected to read ‘‘bottombox scores’’. 

9. On page 77851, top half of the page, 

first column, sixth full paragraph, lines 

6 and 7, the date ‘‘April 1, 2024’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘April 1, 2023,’’. 

Elizabeth J. Gramling, 

Executive Secretary, Department of Health 

and Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01094 Filed 1–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–C 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 54 

[WC Docket No. 10–90; FCC 23–118; FR 

ID 198698] 

Connect America Fund 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final action. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC or 

Commission) defers the commencement 

of the next five-year deployment 

obligation term for legacy rate-of-return 

carriers receiving Connect America 

Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF 

BLS) in 2024 until January 1, 2025, 

while it considers general program 

reforms. 

DATES: The Commission defers the 

commencement of the next five-year 

deployment obligation term for legacy 

rate-of-return carriers receiving CAF 

BLS in 2024 effective January 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, please contact, 

William Layton, Attorney Advisor, 

Telecommunications Access Policy 

Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, 

at William.Layton@fcc.gov or 202–418– 

7400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Second 

Report and Order (Order) in WC Docket 

No. 10–90; adopted on December 26, 

2023, and released on December 27, 


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Measure Full Title/Short 

Form Name (if applicable) 

******* 

Home Health Within-Stay 

Potentially Preventable 

Hospitalization/PPH3 

Discharge to 

Community/DTC-PAC4 

******* 

Notes: 

TABLE D2: PROPOSED MEASURE SET FOR THE 

EXPANDED HHVBP MODEL 

Measure 

Type Data Source Numerator Denominator 

Outcome CCW (Claims) The risk-adjusted prediction of The risk-adjusted expected number 

the number ofHH stays with at of hospitalizations or observation 

least one potentially preventable stays. This estimate includes risk 

hospitalization ( that is, in an adjustment for patient 

ACH/L TCH) or observation stay. characteristics with the HHA effect 

For PPH, an HH stay is a removed. The "expected" number 

sequence ofHH payment of hospitalizations or observation 

episodes separated by 2 or fewer stays is the projected number of 

days. A separation between HH risk-adjusted hospitalizations or 

payment episodes greater than 2 observation stays if the same 

days results in separate HH stays. patients were treated at the average 

HHA appropriate to the measure. 

Numerator over denominator times 

the national observed PPH rate 

equals the reported 

risk-standardized rate. 

Outcome CCW (Claims) The risk-adjusted estimate of the The risk-adjusted expected number 

number ofHH stays resulting in of discharges to community. This 

a discharge to the community estimate includes risk adjustment 

(Patient Discharge Status codes for patient characteristics with the 

equal to O 1 or 81 ), without an HHA effect removed. The 

unplanned admission to an "expected" number of discharges 

ACH/L TCH or death in the to community is the predicted 

31-day post-discharge number ofrisk-adjusted discharges 

observation window. For to community if the same patients 

DTC-PAC, an HH stay is a were treated at the average HHA 

sequence ofHH payment appropriate to the measure. 

episodes separated by 2 or fewer Numerator over denominator times 

days. A separation between HH the national observed DTC-PAC 

payment episodes greater than 2 rate equals the reported 

days results in separate HH stays. risk-standardized rate. 

3 https://www.cms.gov/files/document/hh-qrpspecificationspotentiallypreventablehospitalizations.pdf 

4 https://www.cms.gov/files/document/home-health-outcome-measures-table-oasis-e2023.pdf 

Current Proposed 

X 

X 
6022 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

2023. The full text of this document is 

available at the following internet 

address: https://www.fcc.gov/document/ 

fcc-defers-next-deployment-term-legacyhigh-cost-carriers. 

I. Introduction 

1. The Commission hereby defers the 

commencement of the next five-year 

deployment obligation term for legacy 

rate-of-return carriers receiving CAF 

BLS in 2024 until January 1, 2025, while 

it considers general program reforms in 

the ongoing Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM), 88 FR 56579, 

August 18, 2023, proceeding. Legacy 

carriers will remain subject to the 

Commission’s rules, requiring the 

offering of broadband service at actual 

speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream/ 

3 Mbps upstream to the previously 

determined number of unserved 

locations under the current five-year 

term that ends on December 31, 2023. 

Deferring the commencement of the 

next term will maintain the status quo 

as the Commission considers whether to 

modify deployment obligations for CAF 

BLS recipients going forward, allowing 

the Commission to take into account the 

effect of awards for broadband 

deployment pursuant to the Broadband 

Equity, Access, and Deployment 

Program (BEAD Program) or other 

Federal programs. 

II. Discussion 

2. The Commission defers the 

commencement of the next deployment 

obligation term for CAF BLS recipients 

by one year, until January 1, 2025, as 

described in the NPRM. The deferral 

will allow the Commission to address 

the future budget and deployment 

obligations for CAF BLS carriers and 

give the Commission additional time to 

evaluate the impact of BEAD Program 

and other Federal and state broadband 

program commitments made by eligible 

providers. This action by no means 

releases legacy carriers from their 

deployment commitments by the end of 

2023 under the Commission’s rules. 

3. The Commission agrees with those 

commenters supporting the deferral of 

the next deployment obligation term 

until January 1, 2025. As NTCA—The 

Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) 

states, ‘‘[t]his should afford time to 

determine with greater precision where 

BEAD and other programs impose 

enforceable commitments of their own, 

leaving it clear what remaining 

locations could then be served at higher 

levels leveraging [CAF BLS] resources.’’ 

Because the ‘‘size, characteristics, and 

broadband needs of the rural service 

areas . . . will not be determinable for 

some time,’’ the Commission should 

‘‘monitor broadband deployment in the 

remaining [CAF BLS/high-cost loop 

support] areas for at least one year 

before embarking upon the 

consideration of potential changes . . . 

deployment obligations.’’ Given the 

additional time needed to ‘‘issue the 

necessary legacy program revision 

orders, the next five-year term for CAF 

BLS support should begin no later than 

January 1, 2025.’’ 

4. The sole commenter objecting to a 

deferment, the Nebraska Public Service 

Commission, states it will delay ‘‘the 

deployment of broadband infrastructure 

improvement in these areas.’’ The 

Commission agrees with NTCA, 

however, that the ‘‘benefits of greater 

coordination and potential relief for the 

future [Universal Service Fund] budget 

outweigh’’ such concerns. Although the 

Commission previously has imposed 

specific broadband deployment 

obligations on CAF BLS support 

recipients, it concludes that such 

requirements are not in the public 

interest during the deferral period. In 

particular, broadband deployment 

obligations for CAF BLS support 

recipients have reflected a carefullycalibrated balancing of measurable 

broadband deployment objectives 

coupled with appropriate carrier 

flexibility, and the record does not 

reveal a viable way of similarly 

accommodating those interests in a 

deferral period. The Commission has 

recognized that carriers need to plan 

their broadband deployments. Forging 

ahead with the next deployment 

obligation term under the current rules, 

or applying other deployment 

obligations specific to a deferral term, 

even as the Commission considers 

significant changes, would undermine 

the viability of that planning given that 

both the support levels and ultimate 

deployment obligations would be 

uncertain over the relevant time 

horizon. The Commission also has 

recognized rate-of-return CAF BLS 

support recipients’ need for flexibility 

in implementing the associated 

broadband deployment obligations, 

reflected, for example, in our decision to 

give those carriers flexibility in how 

they spread their deployment efforts out 

over the course of a deployment term, 

and in our actions to ensure those 

carriers have a full five-year deployment 

term to fulfill those deployment 

obligations. The record does not reveal 

a way to similarly achieve those 

objectives as part of deployment 

obligations for CAF BLS support 

recipients in 2024, while the 

Commission considers future reforms in 

that regard. Such near-term deployment 

obligations for CAF BLS support 

recipients also could lead to the 

inefficient allocation of resources in the 

event that broadband deployment 

obligations would require them to 

deploy facilities that could not be used 

efficiently—or at all—to achieve any 

revised broadband deployment 

obligations that the Commission might 

adopt. Accordingly, the Commission 

finds the better course is to maintain the 

status quo pending the outcome of the 

rulemaking proceeding. 

5. The Commission emphasizes, 

notwithstanding this action, CAF BLS 

recipients, including those that were not 

authorized for Enhanced Alternative 

Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced 

A–CAM), remain subject to the current 

December 31, 2023, term deadline and 

must satisfy their broadband service 

location coverage requirements by that 

date. Further, CAF BLS recipients not 

authorized for Enhanced A–CAM 

remain subject to the Commission’s 

reporting and certification requirements, 

including the reporting of newly served 

locations in the High Cost Universal 

Broadband portal, and the 

Commission’s broadband network 

performance testing and certification 

requirements. Legacy carriers remain 

eligible to receive high-cost support 

during the deferral period to cover their 

ongoing eligible costs subject to the 

Commission’s monthly per-line cap 

support amount. Carriers are also 

permitted, but not required, to expand 

their broadband service coverage to 

unserved locations during the deferral 

period and are expected to at least 

maintain their coverage footprint as of 

December 31, 2023, as the Commission 

considers future deployment 

obligations. 

III. Procedural Matters 

A. Paperwork Reduction Act 

6. This document does not contain 

new or modified information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13. In addition, therefore, it does not 

contain any new or modified 

information collection burden for small 

business concerns with fewer than 25 

employees, pursuant to the Small 

Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 

Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 

B. Congressional Review Act 

7. The Commission has determined, 

and the Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

concurs, that this final action is ‘‘nonmajor’’ under the Congressional Review 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 6023 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission 

will send a copy of the Order to 

Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

8. Effective Date. The Commission 

concludes that good cause exists to 

make the Order effective immediately 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register, pursuant to section 553(d)(3) 

of the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Agencies determining whether there is 

good cause to make effective an order 

less than 30 days after Federal Register 

publication ‘‘should balance the 

necessity for immediate implementation 

against principles of fundamental 

fairness, which require that all affected 

persons be afforded reasonable time to 

prepare for the effective date of is 

ruling.’’ In this action, the Commission 

is deferring the commencement of the 

next deployment obligation term, which 

would commence on January 1, 2024, 

but for the action taken here. The Order 

therefore does not impose new rule 

obligations that would require 

preparation by legacy rate-of-return 

carriers but instead delays the 

commencement of existing requirements 

while the Commission considers rule 

changes in the ongoing rulemaking 

proceeding. Accordingly, given the 

timing of the next deployment 

obligation term and that deferment will 

not require advanced preparation by 

carriers, the Commission finds good 

cause exists to make the Order effective 

upon publication of a summary in the 

Federal Register. 

9. Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Certification. The Regulatory Flexibility 

Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), requires 

an agency to prepare a regulatory 

flexibility analysis for notice-andcomment rulemakings, unless the 

agency certifies the proposed or final 

rule(s) ‘‘will not, if promulgated, have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.’’ 

The RFA generally defines the term 

‘‘small entity’’ as having the same 

meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’ 

‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small 

governmental jurisdiction.’’ In addition, 

the term ‘‘small business’’ has the same 

meaning as the term ‘‘small business 

concerns’’ under the Small Business 

Act. A ‘‘small business concern’’ is one 

that: (1) is independently owned and 

operated; (2) is not dominant in its field 

of operation; and (3) satisfies any 

additional criteria established by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA). 

10. As required by the RFA, the 

Commission incorporated an Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

in the NPRM, released in July 2023. The 

Commission sought written public 

comment on the proposals in the NPRM, 

including comment on the IFRA. No 

comments were filed addressing the 

IRFA. The two statutorily-mandated 

criteria to be applied in determining the 

need for RFA analysis are (1) whether 

the proposed rules, if adopted, would 

have a significant economic effect, and 

(2) if so, whether the economic effect 

would directly affect a substantial 

number of small entities. For the 

reasons discussed below, the 

Commission has determined that the 

rules and policy changes adopted in the 

Second Report and Order will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities and 

has prepared this Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Certification (FRFC). 

11. The Order defers the 

commencement of the next five-year 

deployment obligation term, until 

January 1, 2025, for those cost-based 

rate-of-return carriers receiving CAF 

BLS. Legacy carriers will remain subject 

to the Commission’s rules, requiring the 

offering of broadband service at actual 

speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream/ 

3 Mbps upstream to the previously 

determined number of unserved 

locations under the current five-year 

term that ends on December 31, 2023. 

This will maintain the status quo as the 

Commission considers general program 

reforms in the NPRM proceeding, 

including whether to modify 

deployment obligations for CAF BLS 

recipients going forward. Because this 

action delays the commencement of 

deployment obligations already 

provided for under the Commission’s 

rules, it will not cause any significant 

economic impact on providers, 

including those which are small 

entities. 

12. Accordingly, based on the 

Commission’s application of the two 

statutorily-mandated criteria to the rules 

adopted in the Order, it concludes that 

the adopted rules and policy changes 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The Commission therefore 

certifies that the rules and policy 

changes adopted in the Order will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

13. The Commission will send a copy 

of the Order, including a copy of the 

FRFC, in a report to Congress pursuant 

to the Congressional Review Act. In 

addition, the Order and the FRFC will 

be sent to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA and will be 

published in the Federal Register. 

IV. Ordering Clauses 

14. Accordingly, it is ordered, 

pursuant to the authority contained in 

sections 4(i), 214, 218–220, and 254 of 

the Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 214, 218– 

220, and 254, and §§ 1.1, 1.3, and 1.425 

of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.1, 

1.3, and 1.425 the Order is adopted. The 

Order shall be effective upon 

publication of the text or summary in 

the Federal Register. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01634 Filed 1–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 23–336; RM–11967; DA 24– 

70; FR ID 199273] 

Television Broadcasting Services 

Wittenberg and Shawano, Wisconsin 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Video Division, Media 

Bureau (Bureau), has before it a notice 

of proposed rulemaking issued in 

response to a petition for rulemaking 

filed by TV 49, Inc. (TV–49 or 

Petitioner), the permittee of an unbuilt 

television station on channel 31 allotted 

to Wittenberg, Wisconsin. The 

Petitioner has requested that the 

Commission delete channel 31 from 

Wittenberg and allot it to Shawano, 

Wisconsin in the Table of TV 

Allotments and modify its construction 

permit to specify Shawano as its 

community of license. TV–49 filed 

comments in support of the petition, as 

required by the rules, reaffirming its 

commitment to file for channel 31 at 

Shawano. 

DATES: Effective March 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at (202) 

418–1647 or Joyce.Bernstein@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed rule was published at 88 FR 

72417 on October 20, 2023. The 

Petitioner filed comments in support of 

the petition reaffirming its commitment 

to apply for channel 31. No other 

comments were filed. 

The Bureau believes the public 

interest would be served by reallotting 

channel 31 from Wittenberg to Shawano 

in the Table of TV Allotments consistent 

with the technical parameters set forth 

in the Amended Petition. The Technical 

Exhibit submitted with TV–49’s 

Amended Petition demonstrates that the 


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