HHS Announces Organization of Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced formation of an Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform to ensure that the Department's programs and activities are effective and efficient (See 66 Fed. Reg. 46282, September 4, 2001). Efforts will also seek to ensure that such activities have broad impact upon intended clientele and that they are readily accessible to them.

The Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform, which will be governed by the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (P.L. 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2)), will be composed of not more that twenty persons (including Chairperson(s)). Knowledgeable authorities will be drawn from the following fields:

Health Care Delivery	Health Systems Operations
Advocacy for Patients' Interests	Health Insurance
Development of pharmaceuticals and other medical products	Biomedical and health services research

The Committee will report to the HHS Secretary on findings and recommendations for potential regulatory changes. As part of its mandate, the FACA Committee will hold regional public hearings and seek public comment on its areas of inquiry. The Committee shall:

1. "review candidate regulatory changes identified through the regional hearings, through solicitations of written comments from the public, or through consultations with HHS staff and"

2. "advise whether, if effected, these candidate changes would have beneficial results."

As appropriate, the Committee would consider the most potentially beneficial regulatory reforms and advise the Secretary regarding their priority for implementation.

The Committee is scheduled to meet three times, with meetings open to the public. It is scheduled to be terminated within one year after approval of its charter, although additional meetings and/or extension of the Committee may be possible.

CRE strongly supports HHS's efforts to undertake a critical reevaluation of its programs with broad public input and looks forward to working with the Committee as it undertakes its important work.