On June 14, 2018, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation issued a final rule governing the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund's payment of medical benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The revised regulations became effective on August 31, 2018. Most of them, including those governing payments for medical equipment, prescription drugs, and inpatient medical services, applied immediately. However, the regulations governing payment of professional medical services and outpatient medical services had a later applicability date of November 30, 2019, so that a new computer system could be developed to process these bills. OWCP is delaying the applicability date of the regulations governing payments for professional medical services and hospital outpatient services from November 30, 2019, to April 26, 2020, due to unforeseen delays in developing the computer system. More information is available at: https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dcmwc/ 

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