[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23046-23047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07910]
[[Page 23046]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-9896-N3]
Membership List Update and New Meeting Dates for Ground Ambulance
and Patient Billing (GAPB) Advisory Committee--May 2 and 3, 2023
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces new dates for a public meeting of the
Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing (GAPB) Advisory Committee on May 2
and 3, 2023. The GAPB Advisory Committee will make 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 Labor, Health and Human Services, and
the Treasury (the Departments) and relevant States, and the prevention
of balance billing to consumers. The recommendations shall address
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. This notice also updates the GAPB Advisory
Committee membership roster.
DATES: Virtual Meeting Dates: The GAPB Advisory Committee will hold a
virtual meeting on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 and Wednesday, May 3, 2023 from
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Registration Link: The virtual meeting will be open to the public
and held via the Zoom webinar platform. Virtual attendance information
will be provided upon registration. To register for this virtual
meeting, please visit: https://priforum.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_nSWKovtFQbqGY15qaF9CFw.
Attendance is open to the public subject to any technical or
capacity limitations.
Deadline for Registration: All individuals who plan to attend the
virtual public meeting must register to attend. The deadline to
register for the public meeting is Monday, May 1, 2023. Interested
parties are encouraged to register as far in advance of the meeting as
possible. A detailed agenda and materials will be available prior to
the meeting on the GAPB Advisory Committee website at: https://www.cms.gov/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb.
A recording and a summary of the meeting will be made available on
the GAPB Advisory Committee website within 30 calendar days after the
meeting.
ADDRESSES: Virtual Meeting Location: The May 2 and 3, 2023 public
meeting will be held virtually via Zoom only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaheen Halim, CMS, by phone (410)
786-0641 or via email at [email protected]. Press
inquiries may be submitted by phone at (202) 690-6145 or via email at
[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 of Labor, HHS, and the
Treasury 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. Advisory Committee Membership Roster
On November 23, 2021, HHS published a Notice of Charter and
Invitation for Member Nominations in the Federal Register for the GAPB
Advisory Committee (86 FR 66565 through 66566). The Departments
evaluated the nominees for alignment with the membership categories
required under Section 117 of the No Surprises Act, their professional
qualifications, recognition by the ground ambulance and emergency
medical services community, years of relevant experience, experience
with State or Federal committees on related issues, and expertise in
subject matter to be addressed by the committee. The Departments also
considered membership balance as required by the FACA, and as
appropriate to address health equity issues pertaining to ground
ambulance consumer balance billing, and ground ambulance services in
underserved communities. On December 16, 2022, HHS published a Federal
Register Notice Announcing the 17 Members of the GAPB Advisory
Committee (87 FR 77122 through 77123). The Committee Roster has since
been updated to include a new Designee to represent the Secretary of
the Treasury as a Member of the Committee.
The 17 Members of the GAPB Advisory Committee are:
Asbel Montes--Committee Chairperson; Additional
Representative determined necessary and appropriate by the Secretaries.
Ali Khawar--Secretary of Labor's Designee
Carol Weiser--Secretary of the Treasury's Designee
Rogelyn McLean--Secretary of Health and Human Services'
Designee
Gamunu Wijetunge--Department of Transportation--National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Suzanne Prentiss--State Insurance Regulators
Adam Beck--Health Insurance Providers
Patricia Kelmar--Consumer Advocacy Groups
Gary Wingrove--Patient Advocacy Groups
Ayobami Ogunsola--State and Local Governments
Ritu Sahni--Physician specializing in emergency, trauma,
cardiac, or stroke
Peter Lawrence--State Emergency Medical Services Officials
Shawn Baird--Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics,
and Other Emergency Medical Services Personnel
Edward Van Horne--Representative of Various Segments of
the Ground Ambulance Industry
Regina Godette-Crawford--Representative of Various
Segments of the Ground Ambulance Industry
Rhonda Holden--Representative of Various Segments of the
Ground Ambulance Industry
Loren Adler--Additional Representative determined
necessary and appropriate by the Secretaries
The GAPB Advisory Committee Roster will also be posted on the GAPB
Advisory Committee website at: https://www.cms.gov/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb.
III. Meeting Agenda
The first public meeting of the GAPB Advisory Committee will occur
on May 2 and 3, 2023. During this meeting, the Committee will gather
background information on the No Surprises Act,
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the ground ambulance industry, insurance and billing practices, and
consumer issues such as disclosure of fees and balance billing, prior
to discussing potential subcommittees and focus areas. The agenda will
cover the following topics:
No Surprises Act overview
Overview of the ground ambulance industry
Insurance and ground ambulance payment systems
Ground ambulance billing practices
Disclosure of charges to consumers, separation of charges,
and cost shifting
Impact of balance billing on consumers and current
consumer protections
Balance billing prevention, including potential
legislative and regulatory options
A more detailed agenda and materials will be made available
approximately 2 days before the meeting on the GAPB Advisory Committee
website (listed above).
Anticipated Dates and Agendas for Future GAPB Advisory Committee
Meetings
CMS expects to convene future GAPB Advisory Committee Meetings on
the following dates:
August 16, 2023
October 31 and November 1, 2023
Agendas and registration information for these future meetings will
be published in the Federal Register and on the GAPB Advisory Committee
website closer to the anticipated meeting dates, which are subject to
change.
IV. Public Participation
The May 2 and May 3, 2023 meeting will be open to the public.
Attendance may be limited due to virtual meeting constraints.
Interested parties are encouraged to register as far in advance of the
meeting as possible. To register for the meeting, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb. CMS is committed
to providing equal access to this meeting for all participants and to
ensuring Section 508 compliance. Closed captioning will be provided. 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.
V. Submitting Written Comments
Members of the public may submit written comments on subject matter
under committee deliberation prior to the May 2 and May 3, 2023 meeting
via email to [email protected]. Comments must be
submitted via email no later than April 21, 2023. During the virtual
meeting, members of the public will have the opportunity to submit
comments through the chat feature of the Zoom webinar platform. These
comments will be compiled for future consideration by the Committee.
V. Viewing Documents
You may view the documents discussed in this notice at https://www.cms.gov/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb.
The Administrator of CMS, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having reviewed
and approved this document, authorizes Evell J. Barco Holland, who is
the Federal Register Liaison, to electronically sign this document for
purposes of publication in the Federal Register.
Dated: April 11, 2023.
Evell J. Barco Holland,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2023-07910 Filed 4-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P