Subregulatory Guidance Tracker
Federal agencies sometimes create policies or alter regulations without submitting these changes to a formal review process as required by federal law. They do so by claiming these policies are simply clarifications of existing law, and issue them in the form of “Dear Colleague” letters, bulletins, memos, circulars, examples, etc., which together are often referred to as “guidance.”
More than 100,000 pieces of guidance exist, but most are not easily found online.
In this tracker, you will find summaries of suspect guidance, with links to their text and related information. Criteria for listing guidance is available here. If you are aware of guidance not listed here that you believe might be illegal rulemaking, please contact us.
You can search for guidance updates by agency using the drop down below or by keyword using the search function.
Agencies
- Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services 3
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2
- Council on Environmental Quality 1
- Department of Agriculture 6
- Department of Education 9
- Department of Health & Human Services 2
- Department of Health and Human Services 7
- Department of Justice 5
- Department of Transportation 2
- Department of the Interior 1
- Environmental Protection Agency 5
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration 1
- Office of Civil Rights 2
- Office of Land and Emergency Management 1
- Office of Management and Budget 1
- US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1
Programs/Issues
- Americans with Disabilities Act 2
- Bostock v. Clayton 2
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) 1
- CHIP 1
- Children's Health Insurance Program 5
- Civil Rights 5
- Criminal Justice 1
- Disability 2
- Discrimination 4
- EEOC 1
- Education 1
- Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program 1
- Environment 8
- Environmental Justice 1
- Federal Financial Assistance 1
- Federal Funding 1
- Federal Grants 1
- Food and Nutrition Service 2
- Gender Identity 3
- Healthcare 1
- Indigenous Knowledge 1
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2
- Justice 1
- Medicaid 8
- NOAA Fisheries 1
- OSHA 1
- Office of Civil Rights 5
- Recycling 1
- SNAP 4
- Section 504 2
- Small Business 1
- Social Determinants of Health 1
- State Freight Plans 1
- Students 4
- Title IV 1
- Title IX 4
- Transportation 2
- courts 1
- environmental justice 2
Have you seen guidance issued that others should be aware of? Share the details via our Guidance Spotting form.
Protecting Medicaid Beneficiaries Against Impermissible Fraud and Abuse Sanctions
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance addresses sanctions, such as recoupments and lock-outs, that state Medicaid agencies apply to beneficiaries for alleged fraud or abuse.
Coverage of Services and Supports to Address Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance expands how states can use Medicaid and CHIP authorities, such as Section 1115 waivers, to fund services addressing Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN), including housing, utilities, and nutrition support.
Basic Requirements for Conducting Ex Parte Renewals of Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance outlines mandatory ex parte (automatic eligibility) renewal procedures, requiring states to use all available data sources, including those previously deemed incomplete or unreliable, before contacting beneficiaries.
Language Access During Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Condition
The HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to state Medicaid administrators about their responsibility to provide access to various languages for individuals with limited English proficiency during the Medicaid redetermination process.
Ensuring Eligible Children Maintain Medicaid and CHIP Coverage
The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services issued an “Informational Bulletin” outlining concerns and providing recommendations for states on how to address children potentially being improperly removed from Medicaid and CHIP after the conclusion of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Medicaid Redetermination
HHS Secretary Becerra sent a letter to state governors raising concerns with how states are unwinding their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) rolls to remove ineligibles after the conclusion of the federal health emergency.
SNAP/Medicaid Coordination
Since SNAP and Medicaid serve similar populations, the Food and Nutrition Service within the USDA is exploring ways state agencies can coordinate policies and processes between programs to “improve efficiency and increase program access.”
Medicaid/CHIP
The USDA Food and Nutrition (FNS) is continuing a summer food program that was originally launched during COVID-19.