81616 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Notices 

Dates Times 

Tuesday, November 5, 

2024.

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern 

standard time (EST). 

Wednesday, November 

6, 2024.

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. 

The meeting sessions are open to the 

public. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

advise the VA regarding the provision 

by VA of benefits and services to assist 

Veterans in the readjustment to civilian 

life. The Committee, comprised of 14 

subject matter experts, advises the 

Secretary through the VA Readjustment 

Counseling Service. In carrying out this 

duty, the Committee shall take into 

account the needs of Veterans who 

served in combat theaters of operation. 

On November 5, 2024, and November 

6, 2024, the Committee will meet to 

assemble, review, and assess 

information relating to the needs of 

Veterans readjusting to civilian life and 

the effectiveness of VA services in 

assisting Veterans in that readjustment. 

They will also receive updated briefings 

on various VA programs to further their 

ability to discuss and explore potential 

recommendations to be included in the 

next annual report. 

Time will be allotted for the public to 

provide comments starting at 4 p.m. 

EST and ending no later than 4:30 p.m. 

EST. The comment period may end 

sooner, if there are no comments 

presented or they are exhausted before 

the end time. Individuals interested in 

providing comments during the public 

comment period are allowed no more 

than three minutes for their statements. 

Additionally, the Committee will accept 

written comments from interested 

parties on issues outlined in the meeting 

agenda or other issues regarding the 

readjustment of Veterans. Parties should 

contact Mr. Joshua Mathis, via email at 

Joshua.Mathis@va.gov or by mail at 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 

Readjustment Counseling Service 

(10RCS), 810 Vermont Avenue, 

Washington, DC 20420. 

Any member of the public seeking 

additional information should contact 

Mr. Mathis at the email address noted 

above. 

Dated: October 2, 2024. 

Jelessa M. Burney, 

Federal Advisory Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23169 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA). 

ACTION: Notice of a new matching 

program. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, VA is 

providing notice of a new matching 

program between VA and the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) entitled 

‘‘Disclosure of Information to Support 

the Veterans Affairs’ ‘‘Seek to Prevent 

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Initiative.’’ 

DATES: Comments on this matching 

program must be received no later than 

November 7, 2024. If no public 

comment is received during the period 

allowed for comment or unless 

otherwise published in the Federal 

Register by VA, the new agreement will 

become effective a minimum of 30 days 

after date of publication in the Federal 

Register. If VA receives public 

comments, VA shall review the 

comments to determine whether any 

changes to the notice are necessary. This 

matching program will be valid for 18 

months from the effective date of this 

notice. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted through www.Regulations.gov 

or mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 

Vermont Avenue NW, (005X6F), 

Washington, DC 20420. Comments 

should indicate that they are submitted 

in response to ‘‘Disclosure of 

Information to Support the Veteran 

Affairs’ Seek to Prevent Fraud, Waste, 

and Abuse Initiative.’’ Comments 

received will be available at 

regulations.gov for public viewing, 

inspection, or copies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Morales, Director, VA Office 

of Business Oversight Program Integrity 

Office, 1615 Woodward Street, Austin, 

TX 78772, (512) 673–8960. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Agreement establishes the terms, 

conditions, and procedures under 

which CMS will provide certain data to 

VA that supports the VA’s Seek to 

Prevent Fraud, Waste, and Abuse 

initiative. The data will be provided 

from CMS’ database of enrolled 

Medicare providers and suppliers 

(System of Records Notice [SORN] No. 

09–70–0532, Provider Enrollment, 

Chain, and Ownership System 

[PECOS]). Using PECOS data in a 

matching program for this purpose will 

provide VA prompt access to extant 

information, using an efficient process 

that both eliminates the need to 

manually compare substantial numbers 

of data-intensive files and enables VA to 

leverage, instead of duplicating, the 

costly Advance Provider Screening 

process that CMS uses to check 

suitability of Medicare providers and 

generate the data in PECOS. 

Participating Agencies: VA and CMS. 

Authority for Conducting the 

Matching Program: This Agreement is 

executed pursuant to the Privacy Act (5 

United Stated Code [U.S.C.] 552a) and 

the regulations and guidance 

promulgated thereunder; Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Circular A–108, Federal Agency 

Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, 

and Publication under the Privacy Act, 

published at 81 Federal Register (FR) 

94424 (December 23, 2016); and OMB 

guidelines pertaining to computer 

matching published at 54 FR 25818 

(June 19, 1989). Title 38 U.S.C. 7301(b) 

states that the primary function of VA 

is to provide a complete medical and 

hospital service for the care of eligible 

Veterans. In carrying out this function, 

including through contracts with 

external entities and providers, VA has 

an obligation to (1) ensure providers 

furnish care that is appropriate and safe 

and meets or exceeds professional 

standards for quality and (2), in the case 

of external providers, maintain billing 

integrity and compliance with 

contractual terms. 

Purpose(s): Under this matching 

program, VA internal and external 

providers will be matched against the 

database of Medicare providers and 

suppliers who have been revoked by 

CMS pursuant to 42 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) section 424.535. VA 

intends to review the information 

provided, perform additional validation, 

and if deemed appropriate, conduct 

further investigation, or refer the matter 

to the VA Office of the Inspector 

General (OIG) for further investigation. 

Based on additional validation or 

investigation, should VA determine VA 

program requirements have been 

violated, VA intends to take action (or 

refer to the OIG for action) against the 

VA internal and external providers. 

Such action may be based on activities 

that endanger VA patients and/or reflect 

improper or erroneous billing practices 

related to claims for health care 

provided to VA beneficiaries. Actions 

VA may take include (1) terminating or 

modifying existing contractual or 

provider agreements; (2) stopping 

referral of VA patients to the VA 

external providers; (3) referring the VA 

internal and external providers to the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Notices 81617 

OIG; (4) performing pre- or postpayment reviews of claims paid or 

submitted; or (5) taking disciplinary 

actions or removing, demoting, or 

suspending VA internal providers. 

Categories of Individuals: VA internal 

and external health care providers will 

be matched against the database of 

Medicare providers who have been 

revoked by CMS under 42 CFR 424.535. 

‘‘Provider’’ is defined by 42 CFR 

400.202 as a ‘‘hospital, a Critical Access 

Hospital, a skilled nursing facility, a 

comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation 

facility, a home health agency, or a 

hospice that has in effect an agreement 

to participate in Medicare, or a clinic, a 

rehabilitation agency, or a public health 

agency that has in effect a similar 

agreement but only to furnish outpatient 

physical therapy or speech pathology 

services, or a community mental health 

center that has in effect a similar 

agreement but only to furnish partial 

hospitalization services.’’ 

Categories of Records: VA will 

provide CMS electronic files, in a format 

defined by CMS, containing identifying 

information required to match VA 

records with CMS records. Data fields 

will include one or more of the 

following elements: (1) Name of 

Provider/Business; (2) Tax Identification 

Number (TIN) (EIN, ITIN or SSN); (3) 

National Provider Identifier (NPI); (4) 

State(s) in which the provider is 

providing services; and (5) Specialty 

Code or Taxonomy Code. Upon 

matching the TIN or NPI, CMS will 

provide VA the matched data elements 

above and the following additional 

fields: (1) NPI (for individuals) where 

VA provided a TIN; (2) Current 

Enrollment Status; (3) Current 

Enrollment Status Effective Date; (4) 

Status Reason (PECOS codes used to 

denote the specific reason(s) on which 

the final revocation was based); and (5) 

All NPIs associated with a revoked TIN 

to include all above fields (1–4) and 

Enrollment State, Specialty, Role, 

Enrollment Bar status, and Enrollment 

Bar Expiration Date (if applicable). 

System(s) of Records: VA will provide 

information covered by SOR 

77VA10E2E, Health Care Provider 

Credentialing and Privileging RecordsVA, last published in full at 85 FR 7395 

(February 7, 2020), routine uses 1 and 

2; SOR 23VA10NB3, Non-VA Care (Fee) 

Records-VA, last published in full at 80 

FR 45590 (July 30, 2015), routine use 2 

and 30; SOR 02VA135, Applicants for 

Employment under Title 38, U.S.C.-VA, 

last published in full at 42 FR 49728 

(September 27, 1977), and updated at 51 

FR 25969 (July 17, 1986), 55 FR 42534 

(October 19, 1990), and 58 FR 40852 

(July 30, 1993), see routine uses 1 and 

2 published at 42 FR 49728; and SOR 

186VA10D, entitled ‘‘Community Care 

Provider Profile Management System,’’ 

last published in full at 86 FR 6979 

(January 25, 2021). See routine use 10. 

CMS will provide information covered 

by Provider Enrollment Chain and 

Ownership System (PECOS), System 

No. 09–70–0532, last published in full 

at 71 FR 60536 (Oct. 13, 2006) and 

updated at 78 FR 32257 (May 29, 2013) 

and 83 FR 6591 (Feb. 14, 2018), see 

routine use 6 published at 71 FR 60536 

and the unnumbered routine use 

published at 78 FR 32257; and National 

Plan and Provider Enumeration System 

(NPPES), System No. 09–70–0555, last 

published in full at 75 FR 30411 (June 

1, 2010) and updated at 78 FR 32257 

(May 29, 2013) and 83 FR 6591 (Feb. 14, 

2018), see routine use 5 published at 75 

FR 30411 and the unnumbered routine 

use published at 78 FR 32257. 

Signing Authority 

The Senior Agency Official for 

Privacy, 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. John Oswalt, Chief 

Privacy Officer and Chair of the Data 

Integrity Board, Department of Veterans 

Affairs approved this document on 

August 27, 2024 for publication. 

Dated: October 3, 2024. 

Amy L. Rose, 

Government Information Specialist, VA 

Privacy Service, Office of Compliance, Risk 

and Remediation, Office of Information and 

Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23225 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Veterans Rural Health Advisory 

Committee, Amended, Notice of 

Meeting 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. ch. 

10, that the Veterans Rural Health 

Advisory Committee will hold its faceto-face meeting at the American Legion 

Build, 1608 K St. NW, Washington, DC 

20006 on Thursday October 24, 2024. 

The meeting will convene at 8 a.m., 

eastern standard time (EST) and adjourn 

at 4:30 p.m. EST. The meeting sessions 

are open to the public. Additionally, a 

meeting link is available for individuals 

who cannot attend in person and would 

like to join online. The meeting can be 

accessed through the https://

veteransaffairs.webex.com/

veteransaffairs/

j.php?MTID=m362183abee8

a40616be272e42b86ac9b or by 

telephone, +1–404–397–1596, 

Conference ID 2820 022 4291. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

advise the Secretary of VA on rural 

health care issues affecting Veterans. 

The Committee examines programs and 

policies that impact the delivery of VA 

rural health care to Veterans and 

discusses ways to improve and enhance 

VA access to rural health care services 

for Veterans. 

The agenda will include updates from 

Department leadership; the Executive 

Director, VA Office of Rural Health; and 

the Committee Chair; as well as 

presentations by subject-matter experts 

on general rural health care access. 

Time will be allocated for receiving 

public comments on October 24, 2024, 

at 5 p.m. EDT. Interested parties should 

contact Mr. Paul Boucher, by email at 

paul.boucher@va.gov, at (207) 458– 

7129, or send by mail to 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW (12RH), ATTN: VRHAC 

Committee, Washington, DC 20420 no 

later than close of business on October 

14, 2024. Individuals wishing to speak 

are invited to submit a 1–2-page 

summary of their comment for inclusion 

in the official meeting record no later 

than close of business on October 14, 

2024. Any member of the public seeking 

additional information should contact 

Mr. Boucher at the email address noted 

above or 207–458–7129. 

Dated: October 3, 2024. 

LaTonya L. Small, 

Federal Advisory Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23252 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Voluntary Service National Advisory 

Committee, Notice of Meeting, 

Amended 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. ch. 

10, that the Executive Committee of the 

VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) National 

Advisory Committee (NAC) will meet 

October 24–25, 2024 at the Disabled 

American Veterans Washington 

Headquarters located at 1300 I Street 

NW, Suite 400 West, Washington, DC 

20005. The meeting sessions will begin 

and end as follows: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1