66866 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 212 / Thursday, November 3, 2005 / Notices 

organizational and personnel matters 

that relate solely to internal personnel 

rules and practices of ACNW, and 

information the release of which would 

constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

The agenda for the subject meeting 

shall be as follows: 

Wednesday, November 16, 2005—8 

a.m.–9:30 a.m. 

The Committee will discuss proposed 

ACNW activities and related matters. 

The purpose of this meeting is to gather 

information, analyze relevant issues and 

facts, and formulate proposed positions 

and actions, as appropriate, for 

deliberation by the full Committee. 

Members of the public desiring to 

provide oral statements and/or written 

comments should notify the Designated 

Federal Official, Ms. Sharon A. Steele 

(Telephone: 301/415–6805) between 8 

a.m. and 5:15 p.m. (ET) five days prior 

to the meeting, if possible, so that 

appropriate arrangements can be made. 

Electronic recordings will be permitted 

only during those portions of the 

meeting that are open to the public. 

Further information regarding this 

meeting can be obtained by contacting 

the Designated Federal Official between 

8:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. (ET). Persons 

planning to attend this meeting are 

urged to contact the above named 

individual at least two working days 

prior to the meeting to be advised of any 

potential changes in the agenda. 

Dated: October 26, 2005. 

Michael L. Scott, 

Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. 

[FR Doc. E5–6088 Filed 11–2–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND 

BUDGET 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Cost-Based and Interagency Billing 

Rates for Medical Care or Services 

Provided by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs 

AGENCIES: Office of Management and 

Budget, Executive Office of the 

President and the Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This document provides costbased and interagency billing rates for 

medical care or services provided by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): 

(a) In error or on tentative eligibility; 

(b) In a medical emergency; 

(c) To pensioners of allied nations; 

(d) For research purposes in 

circumstances under which VA medical 

care appropriation is to be reimbursed 

by VA research appropriation; and 

(e) To beneficiaries of the Department 

of Defense or other Federal agencies, 

when the care or service provided is not 

covered by an applicable sharing 

agreement. The rates contained in this 

notice do not apply to sharing 

agreements between VA and 

Department of Defense unless otherwise 

stated. 

In addition, until such time as charges 

for outpatient dental care and 

prescription drugs are implemented 

under the provisions of 38 CFR 17.101, 

the applicable cost-based billing rates 

provided in this notice will be used for 

collection or recovery by VA for 

outpatient dental care and prescription 

drugs provided under circumstances 

covered by that section. 

This notice is issued jointly by the 

Office of Management and Budget and 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: The rates set forth 

herein are effective November 3, 2005 

and until further notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Romona Greene, Chief Business Office 

(168), Veterans Health Administration, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 254–0361. (This is not a 

toll-free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA’s 

medical regulations at 38 CFR 17.102(h) 

set forth a methodology for computing 

rates for medical care or services 

provided by VA: 

(a) In error or on tentative eligibility; 

(b) In a medical emergency; 

(c) To pensioners of allied nations; 

(d) For research purposes in 

circumstances under which VA medical 

care appropriation is to be reimbursed 

by VA research appropriation; and 

(e) To beneficiaries of the Department 

of Defense or other Federal agencies, 

when the care or service provided is not 

covered by an applicable sharing 

agreement. The rates contained in this 

notice do not apply to sharing 

agreements between VA and 

Department of Defense unless otherwise 

stated. 

Two sets of rates are obtained via 

application of this methodology: CostBased Rates, for use for purposes (a) 

through (d), above, and Interagency 

Rates, for use for purpose (e), above. 

Government employee retirement 

benefits and return on fixed assets are 

not included in the Interagency Rates, 

and the Interagency Rates are not broken 

down into three components (Physician; 

Ancillary; and Nursing, Room, and 

Board), but in all other respects the 

Interagency Rates are the same as the 

Cost-Based Rates. 

When medical care or service is 

obtained at the expense of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs from a 

non-VA source under circumstances in 

which the Cost-Based or Interagency 

Rates would apply if the care or service 

had been provided by VA, then the 

charge for such care or service will be 

the actual amount paid by VA for that 

care or service. 

Inpatient charges will be at the per 

diem rates shown for the type of bed 

section or discrete treatment unit 

providing the care. Prescription Filled 

charge in lieu of the Outpatient Visit 

rate will be charged when the patient 

receives no service other than the 

Pharmacy outpatient service. This 

charge applies whether the patient 

receives the prescription in person or by 

mail. 

Current rates obtained via the above 

methodology are as follows: 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 212 / Thursday, November 3, 2005 / Notices 66867 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–C 


EN03NO05.042</GPH>
66868 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 212 / Thursday, November 3, 2005 / Notices 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange made 

clarifying changes to the purpose and statutory 

basis sections of the proposal and made nonsubstantive changes to the text of the proposed rule 

change. 

4 In Amendment No. 2, the Exchange made 

clarifying changes to the purpose and statutory 

basis sections of the proposal and non-substantive 

changes to the statutory basis section and the text 

of the proposed rule change. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

6 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

7Effective September 1, 2005, the Exchange began 

charging members a fee on customer transactions in 

ETF and TIR options. The three types of fees—

transaction ($0.08), comparison ($0.04), and floor 

brokerage ($0.03)—result in a total fee on ETF and 

TIR options of $0.15 per contract side. See 

Securities Exchange Act Release No. 52493 

(September 22, 2005), 70 FR 56941 (September 29, 

2005). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

Beginning on the effective date 

indicated herein, these rates supersede 

those established by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs and by the Director of 

the Office of Management and Budget 

on January 7, 2004 (69 FR 1062). 

Approved: September 9, 2005. 

R. James Nicholson, 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Joshua B. Bolten, 

Director, Office of Management and Budget. 

[FR Doc. 05–21933 Filed 11–2–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–C 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–52686; File No. SR–Amex–

2005–099] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice 

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 

of a Proposed Rule Change and 

Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 Thereto 

Relating to the Adoption of a Cap on 

Certain Fees for Options on Indexes, 

Exchange Traded Fund Shares, and 

Trust Issued Receipts 

October 27, 2005. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on 

September 30, 2005, the American Stock 

Exchange LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the Exchange. 

On October 17, 2005, the Exchange filed 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change.3 On October 21, 2005, the 

Exchange filed Amendment No. 2 to the 

proposed rule change.4 Amex has 

designated this proposal as one 

establishing or changing a due, fee, or 

other charge imposed by a selfregulatory organization pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act 5 and 

Rule 19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,6 which 

renders the proposal effective upon 

filing with the Commission. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change, as amended, from interested 

persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Amex proposes to adopt a cap on fees 

for transactions in options on indexes, 

Exchange Traded Fund Shares (‘‘ETFs’’), 

and Trust Issued Receipts (‘‘TIRs’’). The 

text of the proposed rule change is 

available on Amex’s Web site (http:// 

www.amex.com), at Amex’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

Amex included statements concerning 

the purpose of, and basis for, the 

proposed rule change, as amended, and 

discussed any comments it received on 

the proposal. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to put in 

place a cap on certain fees charged to 

members for customer transactions in 

options on indexes, ETFs, and TIRs that 

exceed certain volume levels.7

Specifically, the Exchange will provide 

a volume trade discount to members for 

customer transactions in the form of a 

cap on transaction, comparison, and 

floor brokerage fees in index, ETF, and 

TIR options. The fee cap will be applied 

on a trade-by-trade basis. Thus, for 

customer transactions in index, ETF, 

and TIR options of more than 2,000 

contracts, the options transaction, 

comparison, and floor brokerage fees 

will be charged to the member on the 

first 2,000 contracts only. As the 

Exchange does not currently charge 

members the transaction, comparison, 

or floor brokerage fees for customer 

transactions in options on the Nasdaq 

100 Shares (symbol: QQQQ), the fee cap 

being proposed herein will not be 

extended to options on that ETF. 

The purpose of this proposal is to 

help the Exchange remain competitive 

in these products by providing a large 

customer fee cap similar to those 

applied by other option exchanges to 

the trading of options on indexes, ETFs, 

and TIRs. The Exchange proposes that 

the fee cap proposed in this rule filing 

be effective on October 3, 2005. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) of the Act 8 in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) 

of the Act 9 in particular, in that it is 

designed to provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 

other charges among its members and 

issuers and other persons using its 

facilities. In particular, the Exchange 

believes that, since other options 

exchanges have applied similar large 

customer fee caps to the trading of 

options on indexes, ETFs, and TIRs, the 

proposed customer fee cap will help the 

Exchange to remain competitive. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

Amex does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on competition. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

The Exchange did not solicit or 

receive any written comments with 

respect to the proposal. 

II. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed 

Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing proposed rule change, 

as amended, has been designated as a 

fee change pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act 10 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 11 thereunder. Accordingly, 

the proposal is effective upon filing 

with the Commission. At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

may summarily abrogate such rule 

change if it appears to the Commission 

that such action is necessary or 

appropriate in the public interest, for 

the protection of investors, or otherwise