32776 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

the sample to obtain the net sample

mercury concentration.

Based on the preamble text for the

June 8, 1999, final rule and the response

to comments document that supports

the final rule, it is apparent that the

Agency intended to allow for field blank

subtraction and for not using test

sample results for regulatory

compliance if multiple field blanks do

not meet the specifications at 9.4.3.3.

This correction does not add any new

requirements to the regulated

community. To the contrary, it provides

additional flexibility by allowing the

use of field blank subtraction and by not

requiring the reporting of test samples

that may be contaminated based on

results from field blank analyses. The

rest of EPA Method 1631 is unchanged

from the previously promulgated EPA

Method 1631, Revision B.

II. Administrative Requirements

This technical correction action does

not involve technical standards; thus,

the requirements of section 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.

272 note) do not apply. This rule does

not impose an information collection

burden under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). EPA’s compliance

with these statutes and Executive

Orders or their predecessors for the

underlying rule is discussed in the June

8, 1999 Federal Register notice (64 FR

30417).

The Congressional Review Act (5

U.S.C. 801 et seq.), as added by the

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides

that before a rule may take effect, the

agency promulgating the rule must

submit a rule report, which includes a

copy of the rule, to each House of the

Congress and to the Comptroller General

of the United States. Section 808 allows

the issuing agency to make a rule

effective sooner than otherwise

provided by the CRA if the agency

makes a good cause finding that notice

and public procedure is impracticable,

unnecessary or contrary to public

interest. This determination must be

supported by a brief statement. 5 U.S.C.

808(2). As stated previously, EPA has

made such a good cause finding,

including the reasons therefor, and

established an effective date of July 18,

2001. EPA will submit a report

containing this rule and other required

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S.

House of Representatives, and the

Comptroller General of the United

States prior to publication of the rule in

the Federal Register. This action is not

a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

III. Materials Incorporated by

Reference Into 40 CFR Part 136

USEPA, 2001. Method 1631, Revision

C: Mercury in Water by Oxidation,

Purge and Trap, and Cold Vapor Atomic

Fluorescence Spectrometry. March

2001. U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Engineering and Analysis

Division, Office of Science and

Technology, Washington, DC. EPA–821/

R–01/024.

IV. Public Availability of Materials

The full text of Method 1631,

Revision C incorporated by reference in

today’s rulemaking will be available to

the general public from the following

sources:

Water Docket: Paper version of the

method, along with the public record for

this rule and the Method 1631 final rule,

are available for review under docket

number W–98–15 at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Water Docket, 401 M Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20460. For access to

these materials, call 202–260–3027 on

Monday through Friday, excluding

Federal holidays, between 9:00 a.m. and

3:30 p.m. Eastern Time for an

appointment.

Internet: This Federal Register rule

also is available on the Internet at: http:/

/www.epa.gov/fedrgstr. An electronic

version of Method 1631, Revision C is

available via the Internet at http://

www.epa.gov/OST.

National Technical Information

Service (NTIS): Electronic or paper

version of Method 1631, Revision C

(NTIS Publication No. PB2001–102796)

is available from the National Technical

Information Service, 5285 Port Royal

Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, by

phone at 1–703/487–4650, fax at 1–703/

321–8547, or via the Internet at http://

www.ntis.gov.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 136

Environmental protection, Analytical

methods, Incorporation by reference,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Water pollution control.

Dated: June 6, 2001.

Diane C. Regas,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, title 40, chapter I of the Code

of Federal Regulations, is amended as

follows:

PART 136—GUIDELINES

ESTABLISHING TEST PROCEDURES

FOR THE ANALYSIS OF POLLUTANTS

1. The authority citation for Part 136

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 301, 304(h), 307, and

501(a) Pub. L. 95–217, 91 Stat. 1566, et seq.

(33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.) (The Federal Water

Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972

as amended by the Clean Water Act of 1977.)

2. Section 136.3 is amended as

follows:

a. Redesignate paragraph (b)(41) as

paragraph (b)(42);

b. Redesignate the second paragraph

(b)(40) as new paragraph (b)(41) and

revise it to read as follows:

§ 136.3 Identification of test procedures.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(41) USEPA. 2001. Method 1631,

Revision C, ‘‘Mercury in Water by

Oxidation, Purge and Trap, and Cold

Vapor Atomic Fluorescence

Spectrometry.’’ March 2001. Office of

Water, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA–821-R–01–024). Available

from: National Technical Information

Service, 5285 Port Royal Road,

Springfield, Virginia 22161. Publication

No. PB2001–102796. Cost: $25.50. Table

IB, Note 43.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–15145 Filed 6–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

42 CFR Parts 400, 430, 431, 434, 435,

438, 440, and 447

[HCFA–2001–F3]

RIN 0938–AI70

Medicaid Program; Medicaid Managed

Care: Further Delay of Effective Date

AGENCY: Health Care Financing

Administration (HCFA), HHS.

ACTION: Final rule; Further delay of

effective date.

SUMMARY: This final rule temporarily

delays the effective date of the final rule

entitled ‘‘Medicaid Managed Care’’ that

was published on January 19, 2001 in

the Federal Register (66 FR 6228). That

final rule amends the Medicaid

regulations to implement provisions of

the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA),

which revised various aspects of the

Medicaid law as it applies to managed

care programs.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 32777

On February 26, 2001, we initially

delayed the effective date of the final

rule from April 19, 2001 until June 18,

2001. This temporary 60-day delay of

effective date was necessary to give

Department officials the opportunity for

further review and consideration of

these regulations. We have determined

that a short additional period is required

properly to consider these issues. We

therefore delay the effective date of this

rule until August 17, 2001. Therefore,

provisions of the rule that must be

implemented through contracts with

managed care organizations, prepaid

health plans, health insuring

organizations, or enrollment brokers are

effective with respect to contracts that

are up for renewal or renegotiation on

or after August 17, 2001, but no later

than August 18, 2002.

To the extent that 5 U.S.C. section 553

applies to this action, it is exempt from

notice and comment because it

constitutes a rule of procedure under 5

U.S.C. section 553(b)(3)(a).

Alternatively, HCFA’s delay of

implementation of this rule without

opportunity for public comment,

effective immediately upon publication

today in the Federal Register, is based

on the good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C.

sections 553(b)(3)(B) and 553(d)(3), in

that seeking public comment is

impracticable, unnecessary, and

contrary to the public interest. Given the

imminence of the effective date, seeking

prior public comment on this temporary

delay would have been impractical,

because the time available before the

effective date is too short for meaningful

comment. Moreover, to the extent that

seeking public comment would

preclude this delay, it would be

contrary to the public interest in the

orderly promulgation and

implementation of regulations in light of

the development of necessary revisions.

The immediate delay is necessary to

prevent application of inconsistent

standards while we issue the necessary

revisions.

DATES: The effective date of the final

rule with comment amending 42 CFR

parts 400, 430, 431, 434, 435, 438, 440,

and 447 that was published in the

January 19, 2001 Federal Register (66

FR 6227) and delayed until June 18,

2001 in the February 26, 2001 Federal

Register (66 FR 11546), is further

delayed until August 17, 2001.

Additionally, the implementation date

of the rule is delayed until August 17,

2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deirdre Duzor, (410) 786–4626.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance

Program)

Dated: June 11, 2001.

Thomas A. Scully,

Administrator, Health Care Financing

Administration.

Approved: June 14, 2001.

Tommy G. Thompson,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–15400 Filed 6–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

42 CFR Parts 409, 410, 411, 413, 424,

and 484

[HCFA–1059–F2]

RIN 0938–AJ24

Medicare Program; Prospective

Payment System for Home Health

Agencies; Correction

AGENCY: Health Care Financing

Administration (HCFA), HHS.

ACTION: Correcting amendments.

SUMMARY: This document corrects

technical errors that appeared in the

final rule entitled, ‘‘Medicare Program;

Prospective Payment System for Home

Health Agencies,’’ published in the

Federal Register on July 3, 2000.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon Ventura, (410) 786–1985.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In the July 3, 2000 final rule entitled,

‘‘Medicare Program; Prospective

Payment System for Home Health

Agencies,’’ (65 FR 41128), Federal

Register Docket Number 00–16432,

there were several technical errors. We

transposed a number in a code included

in the list of non-routine medical

supplies that have a duplicate Part B

code that could have been unbundled

and billed under Part B before

implementation of the prospective

payment system (PPS). The code we

listed is ‘‘A4454—Tape all types all

sizes’’ but should be ‘‘A4554—

Disposable underpads’’. In addition, we

inadvertently left out a code for

‘‘A6248—Hydrogel drg gel filler’’ that

should be added to the list.

We also noted a list of codes that

should be deleted from the list. This list

included codes ‘‘K0137—Skin barrier

liquid per oz’’, ‘‘K0138—Skin barrier

paste per oz’’, and ‘‘K0139—Skin barrier

powder per oz’’. These codes were

inadvertently retained on the final list

and should have been deleted in the

final rule.

We inadvertently used the word

‘‘start’’ instead of the word ‘‘end’’ in the

last complete sentence in the second

paragraph on page 41165.

We are correcting the table in the

middle of page 41168 to remove the

asterisks each time they appear (seven

times), as well as the corresponding

reference below the chart because in

some instances the selection of N/A at

M0825 would be valid for a Medicare

patient. For example, a patient returning

to home health care after an inpatient

stay may not warrant a significant

change in condition (SCIC) adjustment.

In this case, the response to item M0825

would be N/A.

We are revising Table 4A, ‘‘Wage

Index for Rural Areas—FY 2000 PreFloor and Pre-Reclassified’’ and Table

4B, ‘‘Wage Index for Urban Areas—FY

2000 Pre-Floor and Pre-Reclassified,’’ to

account for several technical and

typographical errors.

We are correcting a typographical

error in a footnote under the last table

on page 41184.

In Table 7, ‘‘Home Health Resource

Group Case-Mix Classification Decision

Tree Logic,’’ we are correcting a

typographical error to an OASIS item

number, and we are adding the OASIS

item number that was inadvertently not

noted in the final rule.

In the final rule, we added

§ 411.15(q), which superseded an

already existing § 411.15(q). To correct

this, we are redesignating § 411.15(q) to

§ 411.15(r) and republishing § 411.15(q)

as it existed before the publication of

the final rule.

We are making technical corrections

to the following sections of the

regulations to include additional

conforming changes that were

inadvertently not included in the July 3,

2000 final rule: §§ 484.14, 484.36, and

484.52.

Correction of Errors

In FR Doc. 00–16432 of July 3, 2000

(65 FR 41128), we are making the

following corrections:

Corrections to the Preamble

1. On page 41138, in column one, in

line 25 from the top of the page, the

code ‘‘A4454—Tape all types all sizes’’

is removed.

2. On page 41138, the following codes

are added to the list for non-routine

medical supplies that have a duplicate

Part B code that could have been