Frequently Asked Questions
These reference questions are ones that Federal Register editors frequently hear.
For more information about our publications system, contact us:
Phone: (202) 741-6000
Fax: (202) 741-6013
Email: fedreg.info@nara.gov
- Are there any IRS regulations/documents on file today?
Medicare and Medicaid:
- How Can I Find the Latest Physician Fee Schedule?
- How Can I Find the Latest Relative Value Units (RVU's)?
- How Can I Find the Latest Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System document?
- How Can I Find the Latest List of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG's)?
- How Can I Find the Latest List Of Physician Shortage Areas?
- How Can I Find the Latest per diem rates for Government travel?
- What is the Public Law number for a recently signed law?
- How can I get a copy of a recent Public Law?
- How do I find out about grants?
- I am reading a document in the Federal Register. What does it mean? How does it affect me?
- Is the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) the organization to contact for social security numbers, tax refunds or other Government benefits and financial services?
1. Are there any IRS regulations/documents on file today?
Consult our List of Documents on Public Inspection to find out if documents from the Internal Revenue Service, or any other Federal agency, are on file for public inspection.
2. How Can I Find the Latest Physician Fee Schedule?
3. How Can I Find the Latest Relative Value Units (RVU's)?
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publishes this information annually in the Federal Register as a Proposed Rule, and later as a Final Rule, under the heading:
Medicare:
Physician fee schedule; work relative value units.
To retrieve these documents, go to the online Federal Register on GPO Access :
Click the "GO" button for "Browse the Table of Contents from back issues:", and select the table of contents for the Federal Register in which the document was printed. Look under "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services".
If you don't know the exact date of the Federal Register in which the document was printed, you can locate the document by typing "Physician fee schedule" or "Relative value units", with opening and closing quotation marks, under "Quick Search" and clicking "Submit".
To purchase a single copy of the Federal Register, or enter an annual subscription:
- Phone the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, at 202 512-1800.
- Visit GPO's Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.html or
- See the ordering information on p. II of any Federal Register.
You can also refer to copies of the Federal Register at any Federal depository library.
For regulations governing these Schedules, refer to Parts 410 and 415 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations (42 CFR Parts 410 and 415).
4. How Can I Find the Latest Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System document?
5. How Can I Find the Latest List of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG's)?
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publishes this information annually in the Federal Register as a Proposed Rule, and later as a Final Rule, under the heading:
Medicare:
Hospital inpatient prospective payment systems
To retrieve these documents, go to the online Federal Register on GPO Access :
Click the "GO" button for "Browse the Table of Contents from back issues:", and select the table of contents for the Federal Register in which the document was printed. Look under "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services".
If you don't know the exact date of the Federal Register in which the document was printed, you can locate the document by typing "Hospital inpatient prospective payment systems" or "Diagnosis Related Groups", with opening and closing quotation marks, under "Quick Search" and clicking "Submit".
To purchase a single copy of the Federal Register, or enter an annual subscription:
- Phone the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, at 202 512-1800.
- Visit GPO's Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.html or
- See the ordering information on p. II of any Federal Register.
You can also refer to copies of the Federal Register at any Federal depository library.
For regulations governing these programs, refer to Parts 400 and 409 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations (42 CFR Parts 400 and 409).
6. How Can I Find the Latest List Of Physician Shortage Areas?
The Health Resources and Services Administration,
Department of Health and Human Services, publishes this information in the Notices section of the Federal Register. It is listed in the Federal Register Index and Tables of Contents under the topic Heading:
Medical professional shortage areas:
Primary medical care, mental health care, and dental health care; designations and withdrawals list
You can locate them by searching GPO's online Federal Register. Use "shortage areas" as your search term.
To purchase a single copy of the Federal Register, or enter an annual subscription:
- Phone the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, at 202 512-1800.
- Visit GPO's Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.html or
- See the ordering information on p. II of any Federal Register.
You can also refer to copies of the Federal Register at any Federal depository library.
7. How Can I Find the Latest per diem rates for Government travel?
The General Services Administration publishes allowable per diem rates for government travel in the Federal Register as a Proposed Rule and a Final Rule, under the topical heading:
Federal travel:
Per diem localities; maximum lodging and meal
allowances
The "complete" GSA per diem regulations last appeared at 62 FR 63798, Dec. 2, 1997.
To purchase a single copy of the Federal Register, or enter an annual subscription:
- Phone the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, at 202 512-1800.
- Visit GPO's Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.html or
- See the ordering information on p. II of any Federal Register.
You can also refer to copies of the Federal Register at any Federal depository library.
For regulations governing these programs, refer to Chapter 301 of Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (41 CFR Ch. 301).
8. What is the Public Law number for a recently signed law?
9. How can I get a copy of a recent Public Law?
For detailed answers to these questions, see our information about Public Laws, and our List of Public Laws.
10. How do I find out about grants?
To locate specific information about grants in the Federal Register, refer to
the Federal Register Index, under the names of the Federal agencies most likely to have the kinds
of grants in which you are interested, or you can search for this information in the online Federal Register.
The most comprehensive guide to Federal financial assistance programs is the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance. It is available for sale from the Government Printing
Office and is available for reference at most Federal Depository Libraries. The catalog is
also available on the Internet through the GSA Home Page.
For more information about the Catalog, contact the Federal Catalog Staff,
U.S. General Services Administration (MVS), 300 7th Street, SW, Room 101, Washington, DC
20407. Phone: 202-708-5126.
11. I am reading a document in the Federal Register. What does it mean? How does it affect me?
Federal Register Staff members will not interpret or explain any regulations other than our own, which appear in 1 CFR Chapter I.
If you need more information about any document that appears in the Federal Register or Code of Federal Regulations, contact the agency that issued that document.
All Final Rule and Proposed Rule documents in the daily Federal Register name an agency official for you to contact. Many Notice Documents include this as well.
You will find the contact person's name and telephone number near the beginning of the document under the heading, "FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:"
These online resources will also help you locate information within Federal agencies:
United States Government Manual
Federal Yellow Pages, General Services Administration.
Federal Web Locator Center for Information Law and Policy, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.
12. Is the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) the organization to contact for social security numbers, tax refunds or other Government benefits and financial services?
No, the OFR publishes Federal legal documents. We do not accept applications for Government benefits or register personal information. Be wary of organizations that offer to provide Government services for a fee. Most Federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration (http://www.ssa.gov) and the Internal Revenue Service (http://www.irs.gov) deal directly with citizens and provide information on benefits and services free of charge.
You should report false representation schemes and consumer fraud to law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov), your state Attorney General (http://www.naag.org/), and the United States Postal Inspection Service (http://www.usps.gov/).
|