CMS starts freezing regs

Executive Summary

A Federal Register notice announcing a 60-day extension of the effective date and comment period for a final rule on Medicaid premiums and cost sharing, originally published Nov. 25, will be the first freeze of a CMS pending rule after President Obama's Jan. 20 memo requesting such government-wide action on all pending regulations. The notice was put on display in the Office of the Federal Register Jan. 23. The freeze memo applies to any federal regulations that did not take effect before Obama took office on Jan. 20. Therefore, the rule on Medicare Part D protected classes is not expected to be affected by the freeze because it went into effect Jan. 16 (1"The Pink Sheet," Jan. 19, 2009, p. 14)