III. Good Cause for Proceeding With an Interim Final Rule With Comment Period

For the reasons described in this section, we have determined that an IFC is the appropriate mechanism to implement section 1902(xx) of the Act. Although this IFC is effective in 60 days, comments are solicited from interested members of the public on all aspects of the IFC. We will consider these comments in deciding the next steps following this IFC.

Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) ( 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) ), CMS may forgo notice-and-comment rulemaking when it finds, for good cause, that such procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.

Section 71119(d) of the WFTC legislation directs that not later than June 1, 2026, the Secretary of HHS shall issue an interim final rule for purposes of implementing section 71119 of the WFTC legislation, related to community engagement for certain adults. It also explicitly notes that any action taken to implement section 71119 of the WFTC legislation is not subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 533 , which generally requires Federal agencies to follow notice and comment of proposed rulemaking procedures. We also recognize that States must implement the community engagement requirement no later than January 1, 2027, and therefore need time to understand the requirements and expectations and build systems and operations to ensure timely compliance. We find that there is good cause based on the totality of these circumstances to forgo notice-and-comment rulemaking. The express exemption from the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 and the need to provide States with time to implement the community engagement requirement by January 1, 2027, demonstrate that undergoing notice-and-comment rulemaking is impracticable, unnecessary, and would be contrary to the public interest. Restoring the regulations affected by the section 71102 moratorium until October 1, 2034, also aligns with the directive in section 71119(d) of the WFTC legislation, which explicitly notes that any action taken to implement section 71119 of the WFTC legislation is not subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 533 . As noted in section II.A. of this IFC, the restoration of the regulations in this IFC while the moratorium is in effect is necessary to establish an enforceable community engagement requirement. As such, notice-and-comment rulemaking is impracticable and unnecessary simply to restore eligibility and enrollment policies relied on by the regulations implementing section 71119 for the duration of the moratorium.

While under these specific circumstances we find good cause for issuing this IFC prior to a public comment period, we are committed to considering public input. We invite comments on this IFC and future rulemaking. Comments received by the date specified in the DATES section of this IFC will be considered.