Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/07/18/2016-16908/prescriptions-in-alaska-and-us-territories-and-possessions
Timestamp: 2018-08-19 10:28:15
Document Index: 466577978

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 17', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917', '§\u200917']

Federal Register :: Prescriptions in Alaska and U.S. Territories and Possessions
A Rule by the Veterans Affairs Department on 07/18/2016
2900-AP42
VA-2016-VHA-0005
AP42 - Proposed Rule - Prescriptions in Alaska and U.S. Territories and Possessions
AP42-ImpactAnalysis
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-16908 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-16908
Kristin J. Cunningham, Director, Business Policy, Chief Business Office (10D), Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20420; (202) 382-2508. (This is not a toll-free number.)
In a document published in the Federal Register on February 8, 2016 (81 FR 6479), VA proposed to amend part 17 of 38 CFR by amending the regulations that govern medication provided in Alaska and territories and possessions of the United States. We provided a 60-day comment period, which ended on April 8, 2016. We received no comments on the proposed rule. Under section 1712(d) of title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.), VA must furnish medications to veterans who receive increased compensation or pension benefits by reason of being permanently housebound or in need of regular aid and attendance, if such medications are prescribed for the treatment of any injury or illness suffered by such veteran. VA originally promulgated two regulations on October 4, 1967, to implement section 1712(d), in title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 17.60d and 17.60e. See 32 FR 13816. Section 1712(d) does not require these certain veterans to be receiving VA hospital care or medical services as a condition of receiving medications from VA and § 17.60d provided that VA pharmacies would fill prescriptions for these veterans when they were receiving care from a non-VA provider to treat any of the veteran's illnesses or injuries. See 32 FR 13816 (October 4, 1967). Section 17.60e, in turn, addressed geographic areas that, at the time, did not have VA pharmacies—§ 17.60e provided that in those areas without VA pharmacies, VA may reimburse the cost of prescriptions that otherwise would have been filled under § 17.60d. See 32 CFR 13816 (October 4, 1967).
Sections 17.60d and 17.60e were renumbered as §§ 17.96 and 17.97, respectively, and relate to the same cohort of veterans for whom VA is authorized to provide prescription medication under section 1712(d). Because the same cohort of veterans is at issue in §§ 17.96 and 17.97, and because § 17.96 already provides for the filling of prescriptions in non-VA pharmacies, a separate § 17.97 to address prescriptions in non-VA pharmacies (pharmacies in areas without VA pharmacies) is no longer necessary. We are, therefore, removing § 17.97 and marking it as reserved for future use, and are also revising § 17.96 to clarify that any non-VA pharmacy under contract with VA may be used, not just those non-VA pharmacies in a state home under contract with VA for filling prescriptions for patients in state homes.
We are making one edit to the proposed revision of the introductory paragraph in § 17.96 for grammatical Start Printed Page 46602accuracy. No change to the meaning of the proposed regulation text is intended by this edit.
Based on the rationale set forth in the Supplementary Information to the proposed rule and in this final rule, VA is adopting the proposed rule as a final rule with the edit discussed in this final rule.
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, 5 U.S.C. 601-612. This final rule directly affects only individuals and would not directly affect small entities. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this amendment is exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers and titles for the programs affected by this document are 64.007, Blind Rehabilitation Centers; 64.008, Veterans Domiciliary Care; 64.009, Veterans Medical Care Benefits; 64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care; 64.011, Veterans Dental Care; 64.012, Veterans Prescription Service; 64.014, Veterans State Domiciliary Care; 64.015, Veterans State Nursing Home Care; 64.018, Sharing Specialized Medical Resources; 64.019, Veterans Rehabilitation Alcohol and Drug Dependence; 64.022, Veterans Home Based Primary Care; and 64.024, VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 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. Gina S. Farrisee, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this document on June 30, 2016, for publication.
2. Amend § 17.96 by revising the introductory text to read as follows:
Medication prescribed by non-VA physicians.
Any prescription, which is not part of authorized Department of Veterans Affairs hospital or outpatient care, for drugs and medicines ordered by a private or non-Department of Veterans Affairs doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy duly licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where the prescription is written, shall be filled by a Department of Veterans Affairs pharmacy or a non-VA pharmacy under contract with VA, including non-VA pharmacy in a state home under contract with VA for filling prescriptions for patients in state homes, provided:
§ 17.97
3. Remove and reserve § 17.97.
[FR Doc. 2016-16908 Filed 7-15-16; 8:45 am]