The regulations change the reimbursement methodology for community residences to conform to the methodology currently used for IRAs. The IRA pricing mechanism utilizes a weighted average approach. It aggregates the allowable annual costs of all sites operated by one provider and then recognizes certified capacity and billing periods to render an individual monthly price. The pricing methodology differentiates between supervised sites and supportive sites establishing a singular price for each type of residential facility. These regulations promulgate the consolidation of aggregate costs of community residences with the aggregate costs of IRAs to determine a single agency-specific price for both supervised IRA and supervised community residence facilities and a single agency-specific price for both supportive IRA and supportive community residence facilities.

The proposed regulations are finalized effective January 1, 2010.

In preparing the final version of the regulations, non-substantive changes were made from the text that was originally proposed. This was done in recognition of regulations regarding food stamps benefits, liability for food costs and a provider reimbursement offset which also goes into effect on January 1, 2010. In the proposal phase, each of these regulations was constructed as a stand alone document without regard to the consequences one regulation would impose on the other. In order to synchronize the two, the CR regulations adjust cross references to accommodate renumbering due to insertions and deletions in the regulations addressing food stamp benefits; incorporate changes to the reimbursement methodology in the other regulation in explaining the price determination in this regulation; and modify terminology to employ the appropriate language as in changing from a “fee” to a “price.” Minor non-substantive revisions unrelated to the food stamps regulations were also made and typographical errors were corrected.

None of these changes necessitate revisions to the previously published Regulatory Impact Statement.

In preparing the final version of the regulations, non-substantive changes were made from the text that was originally proposed. This was done in recognition of regulations regarding food stamps benefits, liability for food costs and a provider reimbursement offset which also goes into effect on January 1, 2010. In the proposal phase, each of these regulations was constructed as a stand alone document without regard to the consequences one regulation would impose on the other. In order to synchronize the two, the CR regulations adjust cross references to accommodate renumbering due to insertions and deletions in the regulations addressing food stamp benefits; incorporate changes to the reimbursement methodology in the other regulation in explaining the price determination in this regulation; and modify terminology to employ the appropriate language as in changing from a “fee” to a “price.” Minor non-substantive revisions unrelated to the food stamps regulations were also made and typographical errors were corrected.

None of these changes necessitate revisions to the previously published Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

In preparing the final version of the regulations, non-substantive changes were made from the text that was originally proposed. This was done in recognition of regulations regarding food stamps benefits, liability for food costs and a provider reimbursement offset which also goes into effect on January 1, 2010. In the proposal phase, each of these regulations was constructed as a stand alone document without regard to the consequences one regulation would impose on the other. In order to synchronize the two, the CR regulations adjust cross references to accommodate renumbering due to insertions and deletions in the regulations addressing food stamp benefits; incorporate changes to the reimbursement methodology in the other regulation in explaining the price determination in this regulation; and modify terminology to employ the appropriate language as in changing from a “fee” to a “price.” Minor non-substantive revisions unrelated to the food stamps regulations were also made and typographical errors were corrected.

None of these changes necessitate revisions to the previously published Rural Area Flexibility Analysis.

In preparing the final version of the regulations, non-substantive changes were made from the text that was originally proposed. This was done in recognition of regulations regarding food stamps benefits, liability for food costs and a provider reimbursement offset which also goes into effect on January 1, 2010. In the proposal phase, each of these regulations was constructed as a stand alone document without regard to the consequences one regulation would impose on the other. In order to synchronize the two, the CR regulations adjust cross references to accommodate renumbering due to insertions and deletions in the regulations addressing food stamp benefits; incorporate changes to the reimbursement methodology in the other regulation in explaining the price determination in this regulation; and modify terminology to employ the appropriate language as in changing from a “fee” to a “price.” Minor non-substantive revisions unrelated to the food stamps regulations were also made and typographical errors were corrected.

None of these changes necessitate revisions to the previously published Job Impact Statement.

The agency received no public comment.