{"id":549,"date":"2026-08-03T16:32:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=549"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:50","slug":"office-of-personnel-management-department-of-the-treasury-internal-revenue-service-department-of-labor-employee-benefits-security-administration-department-of-health-and-human-services-federal-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=549","title":{"rendered":"Office of Personnel Management; Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Department of Health and Human Services: Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n Skip to Highlights<\/a><\/p>\n
\n

Highlights<\/h2>\n
\n

GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management; the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA); and the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) (collectively, the Agencies) new rule entitled “Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations.” GAO found that the final rule (1) finalizes new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include along with the initial payment or notice of denial of payment for certain items and services subject to the surprise billing protections in the No Surprises Act; and (2) requires plans and issuers to communicate information by using claim adjustment reason codes and remittance advice remark codes when providing any paper or electronic remittance advice to an entity that does not have a contractual relationship with the plan or issuer.<\/p>\n

Enclosed is our assessment of the Agencies’ compliance with the procedural steps required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. If you have any questions about this report or wish to contact GAO officials responsible for the evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule, please contact me at (202) 512-8156.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

B-338470<\/p>\n

July 21, 2026<\/p>\n

The Honorable Bill Cassidy
\nChairman
\nThe Honorable Bernie Sanders
\nRanking Member
\nCommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
\nUnited States Senate<\/p>\n

The Honorable Tim Walberg
\nChairman
\nThe Honorable Bobby Scott
\nRanking Member
\nCommittee on Education and Workforce
\nHouse of Representatives<\/p>\n

Subject: Office of Personnel Management;<\/em> Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Department of Health and Human Services: Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations<\/em><\/p>\n

Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a major rule promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management; the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA); and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Agencies) entitled \u201cFederal Independent Dispute Resolution Operations\u201d (RINs: 3206-AO48, 1545-BQ55, 1210-AC17, 0938-AV15). We received a submission of the rule from HHS on June 2, 2026, from EBSA on June 17, 2026, and from IRS on June 29, 2026. It was published in the Federal Register<\/em> on June 4, 2026. 91\u00a0Fed. Reg.\u00a033900. The stated effective date of the rule is August\u00a03, 2026.<\/p>\n

According to the Agencies, this rule finalizes new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include along with the initial payment or notice of denial of payment for certain items and services subject to the surprise billing protections in the No Surprises Act. Additionally, the Agencies stated that this rule requires plans and issuers to communicate information by using claim adjustment reason codes and remittance advice remark codes when providing any paper or electronic remittance advice to an entity that does not have a contractual relationship with the plan or issuer.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) requires a 60-day delay in the effective date of a major rule from the date of publication in the\u00a0Federal Register<\/em>\u00a0or receipt of the rule by Congress, whichever is later. 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 801(a)(3)(A). The rule was published in the\u00a0Federal Register<\/em>\u00a0on June 4, 2026. 91 Fed. Reg. 33900. The Senate and the House of Representatives received the rule on June 23, 2026. 172 Cong. Rec. S3199 (daily ed. June 24, 2026); 172 Cong. Rec. H4362 (daily ed. June 30, 2026).[1]<\/a> The stated effective date of the rule is August 3, 2026. Therefore, the stated effective date is less than 60 days from the date of receipt by Congress.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Enclosed is our assessment of the Agencies’ compliance with the procedural steps required by section\u00a0801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. If you have any questions about this report or wish to contact GAO officials responsible for the evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule, please contact me at (202) 512-8156.<\/p>\n

\nShirley A. Jones
\nManaging Associate General Counsel<\/p>\n

Enclosure<\/p>\n

cc: Calvin E. Dukes II
\nRegulations Coordinator
\nDepartment of Health and Human Services<\/p>\n

Daniel Aronowitz
\nAssistant Secretary
\nEmployee Benefits Security Administration<\/p>\n

Kalle Wardlow
\nFederal Register Liaison
\nInternal Revenue Service<\/p>\n

ENCLOSURE<\/p>\n

REPORT UNDER 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 801(a)(2)(A) ON A MAJOR RULE
\nISSUED BY THE
\nOFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT;
\nDEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE;
\nDEPARTMENT OF LABOR, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION;
\nDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
\nENTITLED
\n\u201cFEDERAL INDEPENDENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION OPERATIONS\u201d
\n(RINS: 3206-AO48, 1545-BQ55, 1210-AC17, 0938-AV15)<\/p>\n

(i) Cost-benefit analysis<\/u><\/p>\n

The Office of Personnel Management; the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service; the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and the Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the Agencies) prepared an analysis of the costs and benefits for this rule. See<\/em> 91 Fed. Reg. 33900, 34008\u201322 (June 4, 2026). Over a 5-year period from 2026 to 2030, the Agencies estimated annualized benefits of $77.61\u00a0million using a 7 percent discount rate and $78.52 million using a 3 percent discount rate, and annualized costs of $1,038.08 million using a 7 percent discount rate and $1,038.03\u00a0million using a 3 percent discount rate. Id.<\/em> at 34010.<\/p>\n

(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 603\u2013605, 607, and 609<\/u><\/p>\n

The Secretary of the Treasury certified that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small rural hospitals. 91 Fed. Reg. at 34045. According to the Agencies, the data and conclusions presented in the rule amount to the Agencies’ final regulatory flexibility analysis under the RFA. Id.<\/em> at 34040.<\/p>\n

(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202\u2013205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 1532\u20131535<\/u><\/p>\n

The Agencies estimate the combined impact on state, local, or tribal governments and the private sector will not result in expenditures in any one year of $100 million in 1995 dollars, updated annually for inflation. 91 Fed. Reg. at 34045.<\/p>\n

(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders<\/u><\/p>\n

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 551 et seq.<\/em><\/p>\n

On November 3, 2023, the Agencies published a proposed rule. 88 Fed. Reg. 75744. The Agencies received 124 timely comments from a variety of interested parties including private citizens, consumer and advocacy organizations, and employers and other plan sponsors, among others. 91 Fed. Reg. at 33903. The Agencies summarized and responded to comments in the rule.<\/p>\n

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 3501\u20133520<\/p>\n

The Agencies determined that this rule modifies previously approved information collections and submitted a copy of this rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. 91\u00a0Fed. Reg. at 34029\u201340.<\/p>\n

Statutory authorization for the rule<\/p>\n

The Agencies promulgated this rule pursuant to Pub. L. No. 116-260, div. BB, titles I and II (Dec. 27, 2020).<\/p>\n

Executive Order No. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review)<\/p>\n

The Agencies stated that OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs determined this rule is significant under the Order. 91 Fed. Reg. at 34006.<\/p>\n

Executive Order No. 13132 (Federalism)<\/p>\n

The Agencies do not anticipate this rule will have any federalism implications. 91 Fed. Reg. at 34046.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

[1]<\/a> According to documents submitted by HHS, the House of Representatives and Senate received the rule on June 2, 2026. Email from Regulations Coordinator, HHS, to GAO,\u00a0Subject: Official Submission – RIN 0938-AV15\u00a0(June 2, 2026). Based on this receipt date, the rule’s stated effective date would comply with the requisite 60-day delay. However, HHS’s submission to Congress is not yet reflected in the Congressional Record as of the date of this report. We will continue to monitor the Congressional Record to confirm the date of receipt by Congress and update our report as necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> The Agencies stated in the rule that there was good cause to waive the 60-day delay in the effective date for the provisions lowering the administrative fee to $15 per party per dispute, because delay of the effective date for such provisions would be contrary to public interest and unnecessary. 91 Fed. Reg. at 34002. The exception in section 808(2) only applies when the agency has found good cause to waive notice and public procedure requirements when promulgating the rule and incorporates the finding and a brief statement therefor in the rule. 5\u00a0U.S.C. \u00a7 808(2). Here, the Agencies’ good cause finding relates to waiving the delay in effective date, not to waiving the notice and public procedure requirements, and the Agencies published a notice of proposed rulemaking on November 3, 2023, 88 Fed. Reg. 75744, on which it solicited comments. Therefore, this exception does not apply.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Full Report<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/article><\/div>\n
\n

GAO Contacts<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/h3>\n

\t\t\tShirley A. Jones<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing Associate General Counsel<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
Office of the General Counsel<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

jonessa@gao.gov<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n

Public Inquiries<\/h3>\n
\n


\n\t<\/i>
\n\tContact Us<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Source: Reports on Major Rules<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Reports on Major Rules<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management; the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the Department of Labor, Employee\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-government-gao-reports-decisions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":710,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions\/710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}