Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee, 66565-66566 [2021-25560]

Agencies

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66565-66566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25560]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-9901-N]


Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health 
and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The No Surprises Act, enacted as part of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021, requires the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury 
(the Secretaries) to establish and convene an advisory committee for 
the purpose of reviewing options to improve the disclosure of charges 
and fees for ground ambulance services, better inform consumers of 
insurance options for such services, and protect consumers from balance 
billing. This notice announces the establishment of the Advisory 
Committee on Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing (the GAPB Advisory 
Committee) and solicits nominations for members to be appointed by the 
Secretaries.

DATES: Nominations for membership will be considered if they are 
received by December 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Nominations and requests for copies of the charter for the 
Advisory Committee on Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing may be 
submitted to the addresses specified below. All nominations will be 
shared among the Departments. Please do not submit duplicates. 
Nominations or requests for copies of the GAPB Advisory Committee 
Charter must be submitted in one of the following two ways:
    1. Electronically. You may submit nominations or charter requests 
by email to [email protected].
    2. By regular mail. You may mail nominations or charter requests to 
the following address: Attention: Shaheen Halim, Ph.D., J.D., Center 
for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight, Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop WB-22-75, 
Baltimore, MD 21244-8016.
    Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received 
before the close of the nomination period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rogelyn D. McLean, Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS, at (301) 492-4229.
    Press inquiries may be submitted by phone to (202) 690-6145 or by 
email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 117(a) of the No Surprises Act, enacted as part of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, div. BB, tit. I, Public Law 116-
260 (Dec. 27, 2020), requires the Secretaries to establish and convene 
an advisory committee for the purpose of reviewing options to improve 
the disclosure of charges and fees for ground ambulance services, 
better inform consumers of insurance options for such services, and 
protect consumers from balance billing. The GAPB Advisory Committee is 
governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(FACA), Public Law 92-463 (Oct. 6, 1972), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

II. Charter, General Responsibilities, and Composition of the Advisory 
Committee on Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing

A. Charter Information and General Responsibilities

    On November 16, 2021, the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, 
Labor, and the Treasury finalized the charter establishing the GAPB 
Advisory Committee. The GAPB Advisory Committee will advise the 
Secretaries on options to improve the disclosure of charges and fees 
for ground ambulance services, better inform consumers of insurance 
options for such services, and protect consumers from balance billing.
    The GAPB Advisory Committee must submit a report to the 
Secretaries, the Committees on Education and Labor, Energy and 
Commerce, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and the 
Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, that 
includes recommendations with respect to the disclosure of charges and 
fees for ground ambulance services and insurance coverage, consumer 
protection and enforcement authorities of the Departments of Health and 
Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury and State authorities, and the 
prevention of balance billing to consumers. The recommendations shall

[[Page 66566]]

address, at a minimum, options, best practices, and identified 
standards to prevent instances of balance billing; steps that can be 
taken by State legislatures, State insurance regulators, State 
attorneys general, and other State officials as appropriate, consistent 
with current legal authorities regarding consumer protection; and 
legislative options for Congress to prevent balance billing.
    The GAPB Advisory Committee must submit this report no later than 
180 days after the date of its first meeting.
    A copy of the charter for the Advisory Committee may be obtained by 
submitting a written request to the address specified in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.

B. Composition of the Advisory Committee on Ground Ambulance and 
Patient Billing

    The GAPB Advisory Committee shall consist of the following:
    (i) The Secretary of Labor, or the Secretary's designee;
    (ii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the Secretary's 
designee;
    (iii) the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's designee;
    (iv) One representative, to be appointed jointly by the 
Secretaries, for each of the following:
    (I) Each relevant Federal agency, as determined by the Secretaries;
    (II) State insurance regulators;
    (III) Health insurance providers;
    (IV) Patient advocacy groups;
    (V) Consumer advocacy groups;
    (VI) State and local governments;
    (VII) Physician specializing in emergency, trauma, cardiac, or 
stroke;
    (VIII) State Emergency Medical Services Officials; and
    (IX) Emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and other emergency 
medical services personnel.
    (v) Three representatives, to be appointed jointly by the 
Secretaries, to represent the various segments of the ground ambulance 
industry.
    (vi) Up to an additional 2 representatives otherwise not described 
in paragraphs (i) through (v), as determined necessary and appropriate 
by Secretaries.

III. Submissions of Nominations

    The Secretaries are requesting nominations for membership on the 
GAPB Advisory Committee. The Secretaries are also requesting 
nominations for a member to serve as the chairperson of the GAPB 
Advisory Committee. The Secretaries will consider qualified individuals 
who are self-nominated or are nominated by organizations representing 
affected stakeholders when selecting those representatives. The 
Secretaries will make every effort to appoint members to serve on the 
GAPB Advisory Committee from among those candidates determined to have 
the technical expertise required to meet specific statutory categories 
and Departmental needs, and in a manner to ensure an appropriate 
balance of membership. Selection of committee membership will be 
consistent with achieving the greatest impact, scope, and credibility 
among diverse stakeholders. The diversity in such membership includes, 
but is not limited to, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, 
and gender identity.
    The Secretaries reserve discretion to appoint members who were not 
nominated in response to this notice to serve on the GAPB Advisory 
Committee if necessary to meet specific statutory categories and 
Departmental needs in a manner to ensure an appropriate balance of 
membership.
    Any interested person may nominate one or more qualified 
individuals (self-nominations will also be accepted). Each nomination 
must include the following information:
    1. A letter of nomination that contains contact information for 
both the nominator and nominee (if not the same).
    2. A statement from the nominee that he or she is willing to serve 
on the GAPB Advisory Committee for its duration and an explanation of 
interest in serving on the GAPB Advisory Committee. The nominee should 
also indicate which category or categories he or she is willing to 
represent. (For self-nominations, this information may be included in 
the nomination letter.)
    3. A curriculum vitae that indicates the nominee's educational 
experience, as well as relevant professional experience.
    4. Two letters of reference that support the nominee's 
qualifications for participation on the GAPB Advisory Committee. (For 
nominations other than self-nominations, a nomination letter that 
includes information supporting the nominee's qualifications may be 
counted as one of the letters of reference.)
    To ensure that a nomination is considered, the Departments must 
receive all of the nomination information specified in section III of 
this notice by December 13, 2021. Nominations should be emailed or 
mailed to the appropriate address specified in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice.
    The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
(CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having reviewed and approved this 
document, authorizes Lynette Wilson, who is the Federal Register 
Liaison, to electronically sign this document for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

Lynette Wilson,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-25560 Filed 11-19-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P