Medical Child Support Working Group; Meeting [Notices] [03/14/2000]
Medical Child Support Working Group; Meeting [03/14/2000]
Volume 65, Number 50, Page 13795-13796
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
Medical Child Support Working Group; Meeting
AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA), notice is given of the date of the eighth meeting of the
Medical Child Support Working Group (MCSWG). The Medical Child Support
Working Group was jointly established by the Secretaries of the
Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) under section 401(a) of the Child Support Performance
and Incentive Act of 1998. The purpose of the MCSWG is to identify the
impediments to the effective enforcement of medical support by State
child support enforcement agencies, and to submit to the Secretaries of
DOL and DHHS a report containing recommendations for appropriate
measures to address those impediments.
DATES: The eighth meeting of the MCSWG will be held on Thursday, March
30th, 2000, from 1:00 p.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the 6th Floor Auditorium,
Aerospace Building, 901 D St. SW, Washington, DC. All interested
parties are invited to attend this public meeting. Seating may be
limited and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Persons needing special assistance, such as sign language
interpretation or other special accommodation, should contact the
Executive Director of the Medical Child Support Working Group, Office
of Child Support Enforcement at the address listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Samara Weinstein, Executive
Director, Medical Child Support Working Group, Office of Child Support
Enforcement, Fourth Floor East, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington,
DC 20447 (telephone (202) 401-6953; fax (202) 401-5559; e-mail:
sweinstein@acf.dhhs.gov). These are not toll-free numbers. The date,
location and time for subsequent MCSWG meetings will be announced in
advance in the Federal Register. However, it is expected this will be
the last meeting.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2) (FACA), notice
is given of a meeting of the Medical Child Support Working Group
(MCSWG). The Medical Child Support Working Group was jointly
established by the Secretaries of the Department of Labor (DOL) and the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under section 401(a) of
the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-
200).
The purpose of the MCSWG is to identify the impediments to the
effective enforcement of medical support by State child support
enforcement agencies, and to submit to the Secretaries of DOL and DHHS
a report containing recommendations for appropriate measures to address
those impediments. This report will include: (1) Recommendations based
on assessments of the form and content of the National Medical Support
Notice, as issued under proposed regulations; (2) appropriate measures
that establish the priority of withholding of child support
obligations, medical support obligations, arrearages in such
obligations, and in the case of a medical support obligation, the
employee's
[[Page 13796]]
portion of any health care coverage premium, by such State agencies in
light of the restrictions on garnishment provided under title III of
the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1671-1677); (3)
appropriate procedures for coordinating the provision, enforcement, and
transition of health care coverage under the State programs for child
support, Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program; (4)
appropriate measures to improve the availability of alternate types of
medical support that are aside from health care coverage offered
through the noncustodial parent's health plan, and unrelated to the
noncustodial parent's employer, including measures that establish a
noncustodial parent's responsibility to share the cost of premiums, co-
payments, deductibles, or payments for services not covered under a
child's existing health coverage; (5) recommendations on whether
reasonable cost should remain a consideration under section 452(f) of
the Social Security Act ; and (6) appropriate measures for eliminating
any other impediments to the effective enforcement of medical support
orders that the MCSWG deems necessary.
The membership of the MCSWG was jointly appointed by the
Secretaries of DOL and DHHS, and includes representatives of: (1) DOL;
(2) DHHS; (3) State Child Support Enforcement Directors; (4) State
Medicaid Directors; (5) employers, including owners of small businesses
and their trade and industry representatives and certified human
resource and payroll professionals; (6) plan administrators and plan
sponsors of group health plans (as defined in section 607(1) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(1));
(7) children potentially eligible for medical support, such as child
advocacy organizations; (8) State medical child support organizations;
and (9) organizations representing State child support programs.
Agenda
The agenda for this meeting includes review and approval of the
MCSWG's report to the Secretaries containing recommendations for
appropriate measures to address the impediments to the effective
enforcement of medical child support as listed above. At the May, 1999,
meeting the MCSWG formed four (4) subcommittees to discuss barriers,
issues, options, and recommendations in the interim between full MCSWG
meetings. At the next three meetings (August, 1999, October, 1999, and
November, 1999), the subcommittees presented their draft
recommendations to the full MCSWG for further discussion and
consideration. At the January, 2000, meeting the MCSWG discussed the
recommendations to be contained in the report to the Secretaries. At
this meeting, the MCSWG will review and approve the actual report.
Public Participation
Members of the public wishing to present oral statements to the
MCSWG should forward their requests to Samara Weinstein, MCSWG
Executive Director, as soon as possible and at least four days before
the meeting. Such request should be made by telephone, fax machine, or
mail, as shown above. Time permitting, the Chairs of the MCSWG will
attempt to accommodate all such requests by reserving time for
presentations. The order of persons making such presentations will be
assigned in the order in which the requests are received. Members of
the public are encouraged to limit oral statements to five minutes, but
extended written statements may be submitted for the record. Members of
the public also may submit written statements for distribution to the
MCSWG membership and inclusion in the public record without presenting
oral statements. Such written statements should be sent to the MCSWG
Executive Director, as shown above, by mail or fax at least five
business days before the meeting.
Minutes of all public meetings and other documents made available
to the MCSWG will be available for public inspection and copying at
both the DOL and DHHS. At DOL, these documents will be available at the
Public Documents Room, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-5638, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Questions regarding the
availability of documents from DOL should be directed to Ms. Ellen
Goodwin, Plan Benefits Security Division, Office of the Solicitor,
Department of Labor (telephone (202) 219-4600, ext. 119). This is not a
toll-free number. Any written comments on the minutes should be
directed to Ms. Samara Weinstein, Executive Director of the Working
Group, as shown above.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of March, 2000.
Leslie Kramerich,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Pension and Welfare Benefits.
[FR Doc. 00-6255 Filed 3-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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