Notice2021-15882
Air Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee Notice of Public Meeting
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 27, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is giving notice that a virtual public meeting of the Air Ambulance and Patient Billing (AAPB) Advisory Committee will take place on August 11, 2021. The AAPB Advisory Committee will discuss the impact of the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) on States' ability to regulate air ambulance operations and whether to recommend that the ADA be amended as a means of improving the regulation of air ambulance providers.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 141 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40231-40232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15882]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0206]
Air Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee Notice of
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is
giving notice that a virtual public meeting of the Air Ambulance and
Patient Billing (AAPB) Advisory Committee will take place on August 11,
2021. The AAPB Advisory Committee will discuss the impact of the
Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) on States' ability to regulate air
ambulance operations and whether to recommend that the ADA be amended
as a means of improving the regulation of air ambulance providers.
DATES: The AAPB Advisory Committee will hold a virtual meeting on
August 11, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time.
Requests to attend the meeting must be received by August 10, 2021.
Requests for accommodations because of a disability must be received by
August 3, 2021. If you wish to speak during the meeting, you must
submit a written copy of your remarks to DOT by August 3, 2021.
Requests to submit written materials to be reviewed during the meeting
must be received no later than August 3, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The virtual meeting will be open to the public and held via
the Zoom Webinar Platform. Virtual attendance information will be
provided upon registration. An agenda will be available on the AAPB
Advisory Committee website at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB">https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB</a> at least one week before the meeting, along with
copies of the meeting minutes after the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register and attend this virtual
meeting, please contact the Department by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#024343524042666d762c656d74"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="efaeaebfadaf8b809bc1888099">[email protected]</span></a>.
Attendance is open to the public subject to any technical and/or
capacity limitations. For further information, contact Robert Gorman,
Senior Attorney, at (202) 366-9342 or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#57253835322523793038253a36391733382379303821"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="54263b363126207a333b2639353a14303b207a333b22">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (2018 FAA Act) requires the DOT
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (HHS), to establish an advisory committee to review options to
improve the disclosure of charges and fees for air medical services,
better inform consumers of insurance options for such services, and
protect consumers from balance billing. On September 12, 2019, the
Department announced the creation of the AAPB Advisory Committee.
The AAPB Advisory Committee held a public meeting on January 15-16,
2020. At that meeting, the AAPB Advisory Committee gathered information
about the air ambulance industry, air ambulance costs and billing, and
insurance and air ambulance payment systems. The AAPB Advisory
Committee also discussed disclosure and separation of charges, cost
shifting, and balance billing.
On February 4, 2020, the Department established three
Subcommittees: (1) The Subcommittee on Disclosure and Distinction of
Charges and Coverage for Air Ambulance Services; (2) the Subcommittee
on Prevention of Balance Billing, and (3) the Subcommittee on State and
DOT Consumer Protection Authorities. On January 11, 2021, the
Subcommittees filed reports and draft recommendations for the full
Committee's review.
The AAPB Advisory Committee held a second public meeting on May 27-
28, 2021. The Committee discussed the draft recommendations of the
Subcommittees and developed its own recommendations.\1\ At the
conclusion of the May 28 meeting, Committee members expressed an
interest in discussing the ADA's impact on States' ability to regulate
the activities of air ambulance services and in making recommendations
related to the ADA, Public Law 95-504, as a means of improving the
regulation of air ambulance providers. The Committee's Designated
Federal Officer (DFO) indicated that a supplemental Committee meeting
would be held to discuss and consider this matter, if the Department
determined that the Committee had authority to do so after a careful
review of the Committee's charter and the 2018 FAA Act. The Department
has now determined that the Committee has the authority to discuss and
make recommendations related to the ADA. While representatives of DOT
and HHS are voting members of the AAPB Advisory Committee, those two
representatives will abstain from voting on the merits of any
recommendation that the Committee may develop regarding the ADA.
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\1\ Presentations, Subcommittee reports, and other materials
from the first two public meetings are available for public review
on the AAPB Advisory Committee's docket, DOT-OST-2018-0206.
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II. Summary of the Agenda
During the August 11, 2021 meeting, the AAPB Advisory Committee
will deliberate the issue of whether and how to recommend that Congress
amend the ADA. A more detailed agenda will be made available at least
one week before the meeting at <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB">https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB</a>.
[[Page 40232]]
III. Public Participation
The meeting will be open to the public and attendance may be
limited due to virtual meeting constraints. To register, please send an
email to the Department as set forth in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section. The Department is committed to providing equal access
to this meeting for all participants. If you need alternative formats
or services because of a disability, such as sign language interpreter
or other ancillary aids, please contact the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section no later than August 3, 2021.
Members of the public may also present written comments at any
time. The docket number referenced above (DOT-OST-2018-0206) has been
established for committee documents, including any written comments
that may be filed. At the discretion of the Chair, after completion of
the planned agenda, individual members of the public may provide
comments through the ``Q&A'' feature of the webinar platform or orally,
time permitting. Any oral comments presented must be limited to the
objectives of the committee and will be limited to five (5) minutes per
person. Individual members of the public who wish to present oral
comments must notify the Department of Transportation contact noted
above via email that they wish to attend and present oral comments no
later than August 3, 2021.
Speakers are requested to submit a written copy of their prepared
remarks for inclusion in the meeting records and for circulation to
AAPB Advisory Committee members by August 3, 2021. All prepared remarks
submitted on time will be accepted and considered as part of the
meeting's record.
IV. Viewing Documents
You may view documents mentioned in this notice at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. After entering the docket number (DOT-OST-2018-
0206), click the tab labeled ``Browse & Comment on Documents'' and
choose the document to review.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 21st day of July 2021.
John E. Putnam,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-15882 Filed 7-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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