[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10733-10734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04834]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Service Administration
Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule Updates
AGENCY: Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Effective December 21, 2017, HRSA updated the HRSA-supported
guidelines for infants, children, and adolescents for purposes of
health insurance coverage for preventive services, as set out in the
Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule. This notice serves as an
announcement of the decision to update these guidelines as listed
below. Please see https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-futures.html for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethany D. Miller, LCSW-C, M.Ed.,
HRSA/Maternal and Child Health Bureau by calling (301) 495-5156 or
emailing [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bright Futures program has been funded
by HRSA since 1990. A primary focus of this program is for the funding
recipient to maintain and update the Bright Futures Guidelines for
Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents, a set of
materials and tools that provide theory-based and evidence-driven
guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits. One
component of these tools is the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule, a
chart
[[Page 10734]]
that outlines the recommended screenings, assessments, physical
examinations, and procedures to be delivered during preventive checkups
at each age milestone. The Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule has
become the accepted schedule within the United States for preventive
health services through the course of a child's development.
Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act requires that non-
grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers offering
group or individual health insurance coverage provide coverage for
certain preventive health services in four identified areas without
cost sharing. Section 2713(a)(3) describes such services for infants,
children, and adolescents as ``evidence-informed preventive care and
screenings provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by
HRSA.'' HHS, along with the Departments of Treasury and Labor, issued
an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on July 19, 2010 (75 FR 41726-41760) that
identified two specific charts as the comprehensive guidelines
supported by HRSA for infants, children, and adolescents to be covered
by insurance without cost sharing by non-grandfathered group health
plans and health insurance issuers: (1) The Bright Futures Periodicity
Schedule and (2) the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) of the
Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. The
IFR provided that future changes to these comprehensive guidelines are
considered to be issued for purposes of Section 2713 on the date of
acceptance by the HRSA Administrator or, if applicable, adoption by the
Secretary.
On December 21, 2017, the HRSA Administrator accepted the proposed
2017 updates to the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule. Therefore, all
non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers
offering group or individual health insurance coverage must cover the
services and screenings listed on the updated Bright Futures
Periodicity Schedule for plan years (in the individual market, policy
years) beginning on or after December 21, 2018.
The updated 2017 Bright Futures Periodicity schedule can be
accessed at the following link: https://mchb.hrsa.gov/maternal-child-health-topics/child-health/bright-futures.html.
Dated: February 27, 2018.
George Sigounas,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-04834 Filed 3-9-18; 8:45 am]
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