980 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 9, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

(3) In the absence of a Medicare fee 

schedule rate for the emergency 

treatment, VA payment will be the 

lesser of the amount for which the 

veteran is personally liable or the 

amount calculated by the VA Fee 

Schedule in § 17.56 (a)(2)(i)(B). 

(4) Unless rejected and refunded by 

the provider within 30 days from the 

date of receipt, the provider will 

consider VA’s payment made under 

paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) of this 

section as payment in full and 

extinguish the veteran’s liability to the 

provider. (Neither the absence of a 

contract or agreement between the 

Secretary and the provider nor any 

provision of a contract, agreement, or 

assignment to the contrary shall operate 

to modify, limit, or negate the 

requirement in the preceding sentence.) 

(5) VA will not reimburse a veteran 

under this section for any copayment, 

deductible, coinsurance, or similar 

payment that the veteran owes the third 

party or is obligated to pay under a 

health-plan contract. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–00232 Filed 1–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 111 

eInduction Option, Seamless 

Acceptance Program, and Full-Service 

Automation Option, Verification 

Standards 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is 

amending Mailing Standards of the 

United States Postal Service, Domestic 

Mail Manual (DMM®), to add 

verification standards for the eInduction 

Option, Seamless Acceptance Program, 

and Full-Service Automation Option. 

DATES: Effective: March 5, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Heather Dyer at (207) 482–7217, or 

Garry Rodriguez at (202) 268–7281. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal 

Service published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking on October 31, 2017, (82 FR 

50346–50348) to add the verification 

standards for the eInduction Option, 

Seamless Acceptance Program, and 

Full-Service Automation Option, which 

included a 30-day comment period. 

The Postal Service received 2 formal 

responses on the proposed rule, both of 

which included multiple comments. 

Comments From the First Responder 

Comment: When measuring 

compliance against the ‘‘active version 

of the Mail Direction File’’ during 

eInduction verifications, does a 30-day 

grace period apply? 

Response: Yes. The effective Mail 

Direction File (MDF) is distributed 

among the industry and PostalOne! 

applications at the beginning of each 

month to ensure valid container entry 

acceptance. Each effective MDF also 

observes a 30 day grace period allowing 

consumers to confirm mail prepared for 

the subsequent mailing period. For mail 

that is prepared in the current mailing 

period, the effective MDF will provide 

a source of valid entry facilities that will 

accept mail within the prepared mailing 

period. For mail that is prepared in the 

subsequent mailing period, the effective 

MDF’s grace period observations will 

provide a source of valid entry facilities 

that will accept mail with the prepared 

mailing period. At this time the USPS 

does not plan on changing any system 

processes with regards to logging errors 

for eInduction. If mailers believe that 

invalid errors are being logged they may 

be researched through the review 

process. 

Comment: The Postal Service should 

consider removing eInduction 

assessment on undocumented 

containers for mailers that do not 

participate in Seamless Acceptance. 

Response: At this time, the USPS does 

not plan on changing any system 

processes, including postage assessment 

for eInduction. If mailers believe that 

they have proof of payment for a 

container that received an 

undocumented error they may request a 

review. 

Comments From the Second Responder 

Comment: In reviewing the proposed 

DMM updates, there are several 

documents that are cross-referenced; 

these documents are not up to date. 

Response: The recommended changes 

to USPS Publication 685 have been 

noted and will be addressed through a 

separate forum. Changes to DMM 

Section 602.5.2 were published in the 

Address Quality Census Measurement 

and Assessment Process final rule of 

October 24, 2017 (82 FR 49123–49128), 

and take effect on January 21, 2018. The 

USPS is working to update ‘‘Publication 

804—Drop Shipment Procedures for 

Destination Entry’’ and ‘‘Guide for 

Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters 

and Flats Reporting.’’ 

Comment: We disagree with the 

method USPS has adopted to assess 

additional postage charged for logical 

mailers in the Full-Service Intelligent 

Mail program. Please explain why the 

method is not consistent across all 

Streamlined programs. 

Response: At this time the USPS does 

not plan on changing the Full-Service 

assessment process for logical mailings. 

If a mailer is able to provide 

documentation supporting a reduction 

in assessment due to evidence of 

physical mailings during the review 

process it will be taken into 

consideration. 

Comment: The Appeals Process 

outlined in the DMM Section 604.10.1.2 

does not appear to be consistent with 

the process outlined in Publication 685. 

Response: The Appeals Process for 

the eInduction, Full-Service, and 

Seamless Acceptance, programs are 

outlined in Section 6–3.3.3 PCSC 

Appeals of Publication 685. These 

programs are not covered by the 

timeline outlined in DMM Section 

604.10.1.2. Mailers should work with 

their assessment reviewer to discuss the 

findings of the review and what type of 

documentation will be needed to file an 

appeal. 

Comment: We have outlined the 

differences between the DMM and 

Publication 685; please utilize the same 

language for consistency. 

Response: For each difference noted, 

changes to the DMM sections were 

made when applicable and appropriate. 

The recommended changes to 

Publication 685 have been noted and 

will be addressed through a separate 

forum. 

In addition, the second responder had 

numerous comments that were 

determined to be beyond the scope of 

this final rule. The Postal Service will 

review and address these comments in 

a separate forum with the responder. 

The Postal Service is amending DMM 

sections 705.20, eInduction Option, 

705.22, Seamless Acceptance Program, 

and 705.23, Full-Service Automation 

Option, to add the applicable 

verification descriptions, error 

thresholds, and postage assessments, 

standards. These standards have been 

made available to the public via 

Publication 685, Publication for 

Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters 

and Flats, available at https://

postalpro.usps.com, which also 

contains additional information on the 

verification processes. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

The Postal Service adopts the 

following changes to Mailing Standards 

of the United States Postal Service, 

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 9, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 981 

incorporated by reference in the Code of 

Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1. 

Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is 

amended as follows: 

PART 111—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 39 CFR 

part 111 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301– 

307; 18 U.S.C. 1692–1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 

401, 403, 404, 414, 416, 3001–3011, 3201– 

3219, 3403–3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3632, 

3633, and 5001. 

■ 2. Revise the Mailing Standards of the 

United States Postal Service, Domestic 

Mail Manual (DMM) as follows: 

Mailing Standards of the United States 

Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 

(DMM) 

* * * * * 

700 Special Standards 

* * * * * 

705 Advanced Preparation and 

Special Postage Payment Systems 

* * * * * 

20.0 eInduction Option 

20.1 Description 

[Revise the fourth sentence of 20.1 to 

read as follows:] 

* * * For additional information on 

the eInduction Option see Publication 

685, Publication for Streamlined Mail 

Acceptance for Letters and Flats, 

available at https://postalpro.usps.com. 

* * * * * 

[Add new subsection 20.5, 

Verifications, to read as follows:] 

20.5 Verifications 

The six eInduction option verification 

descriptions, error thresholds, and 

postage assessments, are provided in 

20.5.1 through 20.5.6. 

20.5.1 Undocumented (Extra) 

Containers Verification 

An Undocumented Container error 

occurs when a scanned IMcb is not 

found in an eDoc, or is included in an 

eDoc and associated to a postage 

statement in estimated (EST) status. 

Containers will be flagged as 

Undocumented 10 days after the scan 

unload date/time if no eDoc has been 

uploaded or if the postage statement is 

still in EST status. The threshold is 0%. 

All errors will be subject to an 

assessment amount of the average 

postage paid for each container mailed 

by the eDoc submitter CRID over the 

current invoice period to the eDoc 

submitter CRID or CRID tied to the MID 

contained within the IMcb. 

20.5.2 Payment Verification 

All containers must be linked to a 

finalized postage statement in 

eInduction to verify payment. The error 

threshold is 0%. Payment Verification 

errors are logged when a scanned and 

accepted eInduction container is 

associated with a postage statement that 

is not in FIN or FPP status at the time 

of scanning. Containers above the error 

threshold will be subject to an 

assessment amount equal to the 

containers eDoc postage amount as 

indicated on the non-finalized postage 

statements. For Payment Errors logged 

on physical siblings of logical 

containers, the full postage of the logical 

container is charged to the first physical 

sibling container scanned. Any 

additional scans among other physical 

siblings will log errors, but will not 

result in an additional charge. 

Assessments will be logged against the 

eDoc submitter CRID. 

20.5.3 Duplicate Verification 

eInduction requires IMcbs to remain 

unique for 45 days. The error threshold 

is 0.17%. Duplicate errors are logged 

when an IMcb is scanned and accepted 

during more than one FAST 

appointment in the previous 45 days. 

Duplicate Errors are not logged if the 

duplicate scans take place within 5 

hours of the original container scan. 

Errors above the threshold are subject to 

an assessment amount equal to the 

average postage paid for each container 

mailed by the eDoc submitter CRID over 

the invoice period. 

20.5.4 Misshipped Verification 

Containers claiming a destination 

entry discount must be delivered to the 

correct entry locations per the active 

version of the Mail Direction File. The 

Mail Direction File is active at the 

beginning of the month and includes a 

30 day grace period into the following 

month. The error threshold is 1.05%. 

Misshipped errors are logged when the 

container is scanned at an incorrect 

entry location, per the Mail Direction 

File. Errors over the threshold are 

subject to an assessment amount equal 

to the difference between the eDoc 

postage claimed, and the correct postage 

amount for the container. For 

misshipped errors logged against 

physical siblings of logical containers, 

postage is recalculated on the logical 

container, and divided by the number of 

physical siblings. This amount is then 

applied to each physical sibling in error 

to the eDoc submitter CRID. 

20.5.5 Zone Discount Verification 

Pieces claiming a Zone Discount must 

be entered at the valid facility. The error 

threshold is 0.01%. Zone Discount 

errors are logged when one or more 

pieces on a container claim a lower 

entry zone than the zone calculated 

between the location where the 

container was entered, and the eDoc 

destination. Errors above the threshold 

are subject to an assessment amount 

equal to the difference between the eDoc 

postage claimed, and the correct postage 

amount for the container. For containers 

claiming a non-numeric Zone Discount 

in the eDoc, correct postage amount is 

calculated using the piece rate for the 

Entry Discount that is valid at the actual 

entry point for the mail class, shape, 

weight, mail prep, and presort identified 

in the eDoc. For Zone Discount errors 

logged against physical siblings of 

logical containers, postage is 

recalculated on the logical container, 

and divided by the number of physical 

siblings. This amount is then applied to 

each physical sibling in error to the 

eDoc submitter CRID. 

20.5.6 Entry Point Discount (EPD) 

Verification 

eInduction pieces are required to be 

entered at a valid facility when claiming 

a destination entry discount. The error 

threshold is 0.5%. EPD errors are logged 

when one or more pieces on a container 

claim an entry discount level that is not 

available at the location where the 

container was entered. Errors above 

threshold are subject to an assessment 

amount equal to the difference between 

the eDoc postage claimed and the 

correct postage amount for the 

container. For EPD errors logged against 

physical siblings of logical containers, 

postage is recalculated on the logical 

container, and divided by the number of 

physical siblings. This amount is then 

applied to each physical sibling in error 

to the eDoc submitter CRID. 

* * * * * 

22.0 Seamless Acceptance Program 

22.1 Description 

[Revise the second sentence of 22.1 to 

read as follows:] 

* * * For additional information, on 

the Seamless Acceptance Program see 

Publication 685, Publication for 

Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters 

and Flats, available at https://

postalpro.usps.com. 

* * * * * 

[Add new subsection 22.4, 

Verifications, to read as follows:] 

22.4 Verifications 

The five seamless acceptance program 

verification descriptions, error 

thresholds, and postage assessments, are 

provided in 22.4.1 through 22.4.5. 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES
982 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 6 / Tuesday, January 9, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

22.4.1 Undocumented (Piece) 

Verification 

An Undocumented error is logged 

when the IMb gathered during sampling 

or MPE scan cannot be linked to any 

eDoc submitted within the last 45 days. 

The error threshold is 0.3%. Pieces 

above the error threshold will be subject 

to an assessment amount equal to the 

average piece rate by mail class and 

CRID for the assessment month. 

22.4.2 Delivery Point Verification 

A valid delivery point must be 

provided in the piece IMb. The error 

threshold is 2%. Delivery Point errors 

are logged when the delivery point 

provided in the eDoc is either not valid, 

or contains a generic +4 information 

with an address record type that is not 

General Delivery. Errors above the 

threshold are subject to an assessment 

amount equal to difference between the 

eDoc piece postage and correct postage 

amount. 

22.4.3 Nesting/Sortation (MPE) 

Verification 

A Nesting/Sortation error is logged 

when the piece scanned is nested in a 

different tray or bundle than the tray or 

bundle that was identified in the eDoc. 

The error threshold is 1%. Errors above 

this threshold are subject to an 

assessment amount equal to the 

difference between the eDoc piece 

postage and the correct postage amount. 

22.4.4 General Postage Adjustment 

Factor Verification 

The Postage Adjustment Factor (PAF) 

is a method to apply an error rate 

determined from handheld scanner 

samplings to the entire population of 

mailings within a calendar month. PAF 

is calculated on a monthly basis and 

measures the difference between the 

correct postage and the postage paid, 

expressed as a ratio of the correct 

postage due to the sum of eDoc postage 

for the sampled pieces. General PAF is 

used for errors in Postage and Weight 

verifications. The General PAF 

threshold factor is 1.05 (5%). A mailer 

will only be subject to an assessment 

when the eDoc submitter has exceeded 

the PAF threshold in the current billing 

month and three or more times in the 

previous 11 billing months. The General 

PAF is applied to the total monthly 

eDoc postage for the eDoc submitter and 

assessments are issued to the eDoc 

submitter. 

22.4.5 Mail Characteristic Postage 

Adjustment Factor Verification 

The Mail Characteristic, Postage 

Adjustment Factor (PAF), is used for 

errors in the processing category, mail 

class, nonprofit eligibility and content. 

The threshold factor is 1.05 (5%). A 

mailer will only be subject to an 

assessment when the eDoc submitter 

has exceeded the Mail Characteristic 

PAF threshold in the current billing 

month and three or more times in the 

previous 11 billing months. The Mail 

Characteristic PAF is applied at the 

eDoc Submitter CRID level and is 

calculated using the adjusted and eDoc 

postage attributed to the Mail Owner. 

* * * * * 

23.0 Full-Service Automation Option 

23.1 Description 

[Revise the second sentence of 23.1 to 

read as follows:] 

* * * For additional information on 

the full-service automation option see 

Publication 685, Publication for 

Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters 

and Flats, available on PostalPro at 

http://postalpro.usps.com. 

* * * * * 

[Add new subsection 23.6, 

Verifications, to read as follows:] 

23.6 Verifications 

The six full-service verification 

descriptions, error thresholds, and 

postage assessments, are provided in 

23.6.1 through 23.6.6. 

23.6.1 Mailer Identification (MID) 

Verification 

The MID is a six- or nine-digit code 

included in the Intelligent Mail barcode 

suite, allowing identification of the 

party responsible for a mailpiece, 

handling unit, or container. A valid MID 

is one that is registered within the 

Postal Service systems and provided in 

the eDoc. The error threshold is 2% for 

the piece, handling unit, and container 

level. Errors over the threshold will be 

subject to an assessment amount equal 

to the removal of the full-service 

discount claimed for each piece in error 

above the threshold. 

23.6.2 Service Type ID (STID) 

Verification 

The STID is a three-digit code 

included in the IMb for a mailpiece to 

provide mail class and service level. 

The error threshold is 2%. Errors over 

the threshold will be subject to an 

assessment amount equal to the removal 

of the full-service discount claimed for 

each piece in error above the threshold. 

23.6.3 By/For Verification 

The By/For relationship recognizes 

the Mail Owner and Mail Service 

Provider in the eDoc. The error 

threshold is 5%. An error occurs when 

a valid Mail Preparer is not identified, 

a valid Mail Owner is not identified, 

Mail Preparer is incorrectly recorded as 

the Mail Owner, or the Mail Owner was 

previously identified as the Mail 

Preparer. Errors above the threshold are 

subject to an assessment amount equal 

to the removal of the full-service 

discount claimed for each piece in error 

above the threshold. 

23.6.4 Barcode Uniqueness 

Verification 

Barcode uniqueness is met when a 

barcode is unique across all mailers and 

mailings for 45 days. The error 

threshold is 2%. Errors occur when the 

IMcb, IMtb or IMb is not unique across 

all mailings from all mailers over the 

previous 45 days of the Postage 

Statement Mailing Date that was 

provided in the eDoc. Errors above the 

threshold are subject to an assessment 

equal to the removal of the full-service 

discount claimed for each piece in error 

above the threshold. 

23.6.5 Entry Facility Verification 

The entry facility location must be 

identified in the eDoc by a Locale Key 

or ZIP Code. The error threshold is 2%. 

Errors above the threshold are subject to 

an assessment amount of the full-service 

discount claimed for each piece in error 

above the threshold. 

23.6.6 Unlinked Copal Verification 

Mailings that will be copalletized 

must be identified in the original eDoc 

submission. It is a requirement that the 

consolidator provide documentation 

within 14 days of the mailing date of the 

original eDoc to properly identify the 

linkage of the trays or sacks to the 

container. The error threshold is 5%. 

Errors above the threshold are subject to 

an assessment amount equal to the fullservice discount claimed. 

* * * * * 

We will publish an appropriate 

amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect 

these changes. 

Stanley F. Mires, 

Attorney, Federal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00005 Filed 1–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES