27282 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 106 / Friday, May 31, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

§ 1.603 [Amended]

5. In § 1.603, paragraphs (a) and (b)

are removed; the paragraph designation

(c) and its heading are removed;

paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) are

redesignated as paragraphs (a) and (b),

respectively; and newly redesignated

paragraphs (a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), and

(a)(iv) are redesignated as paragraphs

(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4),

respectively.

6. Section 1.620 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 1.620 Eligibility for burial.

Section 2402 of title 38, United States

Code, bestows eligibility for burial in

any open cemetery in the National

Cemetery System. The following rules

in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this

section state conditions in addition to

those imposed by statute. To be eligible

for burial in a national cemetery:

(a) A United States citizen who served

in an allied armed force, as provided in

38 U.S.C. 2402(4), must have been a

citizen of the United States at the time

of entry on such service and at the time

of his or her death.

(b) A minor child of an eligible

person, as provided in 38 U.S.C.

2402(5), must have been at the time of

his or her death under 21 years old or

under 23 years old if pursuing a course

of instruction at an approved

educational institution.

(c) An unmarried adult child of an

eligible person, as provided in 38 U.S.C.

2402(5), must have been physically or

mentally disabled and incapable of self

support.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 2402)

§ 1.630 [Amended]

7. In § 1.630, paragraph (b) is

amended by removing the second and

third sentences.

[FR Doc. 96–13477 Filed 5–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

38 CFR Part 1

RIN 2900–AI09

Gender Policy for VA Publications and

Other Communications

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends

regulations of the Department of

Veterans Affairs (VA) by removing

§ 1.13 of 38 CFR. This section provided

that VA publications and other

communications must avoid using

language refering only to the masculine

gender when the feminine gender also

was intended to be included. This

guidance was intended to avoid any

incorrect appearance of seeming to

preclude benefits for female veterans,

dependents, or beneficiaries. Although,

VA is fully committed to the genderneutral concepts that were set forth in

§ 1.13, the material from § 1.13 is

removed since the mandate from that

section is being accomplished through

internal issuances.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth Hoffman, Director, Information

Resources Management, Policy and

Standards Service (045A3), Department

of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420,

(202) 273–8129.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final

rule consists of nonsubstantive changes

and, therefore, is not subject to the

notice and comment and effective date

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553.

The Secretary hereby certifies that

this final rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as they are

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(RFA), 5. U.S.C. 601–602. This final rule

would not cause a significant effect on

any entities since it does not contain

any substantive provisions. Therefore,

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this

amendment is exempt from the initial

and final regulatory flexibility analysis

requirements of sections 603 and 604.

There are no Catalog of Federal

Domestic Assistance program numbers

for this regulation.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 1

Administrative practice and

procedure, Claims, Freedom of

information, Government contracts,

Government employees, Government

property, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Approved: May 13, 1996.

Jesse Brown,

Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 38 CFR part 1 is amended as

set forth below:

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for part 1

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless

otherwise noted.

§ 1.131 [Removed]

2. The undesignated centerheading

preceding § 1.13 and § 1.13 are removed.

[FR Doc. 96–13478 Filed 5–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

42 CFR Part 417

[OMC–004–F]

RIN 0938–AE64

Health Maintenance Organizations:

Employer Contribution to HMOs

AGENCY: Health Care Financing

Administration (HCFA), HHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule amends § 417.157 of

the HCFA regulations, which pertains to

employer contributions to health

maintenance organizations (HMOs) that

are included among the alternatives in

health benefits plans that an employer

offers to its employees.

These amendments are necessary to

conform that section to changes made in

section 1310(c) of the Public Health

Service Act by section 7(a)(2) of the

HMO Amendments of 1988.

The intent is to ensure that employees

who choose the HMO alternative are not

financially disadvantaged.

DATES: Effective Date: These regulations

are effective on July 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Marty Abeln, (410) 786–1032.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Under section 1310 of the Public

Health Service (PHS) Act, the following

rules apply:

• Certain public and private

employers that offer health benefits

plans to their employees must include

the option of enrollment in qualified

health maintenance organizations

(HMOs) if such HMOs request inclusion

and their requests meet specified

conditions as to content and timing (this

is known as the ‘‘employer mandate’’

provision);

• The procedures for offering the

HMO option must take into account the

rules of collective bargaining; and

• No employer is required to

contribute more for health benefits than

would be required by any prevailing

collective bargaining agreement or any

other legally enforceable contract

between the employer and the

employees for health benefits.

These provisions are implemented by

subpart E of part 417 of the HCFA rules.

Section 417.157 of those rules provides

that—

• The employer or designee must

include the HMO option in the offering

on terms no less favorable, with respect