[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40231-40232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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 https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB 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 [email protected]. 
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 
[email protected].

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 https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/AAPB.

[[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 https://www.regulations.gov. 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