NHTSA Calls for Autonomous Vehicle Manufactures to Improve Vehicles Interaction with Emergency Services 
On July 8, Jonathan Morrison, Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sent a letter to the manufacturers of autonomous vehicles (AVs) telling them that their companies need to focus on addressing AV interference with emergency responders. The administrator highlighted incidents where AVs have entered active emergency scenes and AVs not appropriately yielding to responding emergency vehicles. The letter states that NHTSA will meet with AV developers this month to hear their corrective actions to this issue.  

NHTSA also added the ability for first responders to report vehicle safety concerns about AVs and other vehicles they witness while on duty through NHTSA’s First Responder Incident Advanced Reporting form. 

Please Contact CMS to Preserve the GEMT Program
On May 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule on Medicaid Program; Medicaid Managed Care State Directed Payments and Medicaid Fee-for-Service Targeted Medicaid Practitioner Payments in the Federal Register. This rule was proposed in response to the Medicaid reforms from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA; P.L. 119-21). Specifically, it caps most Medicaid add-on payments at the Medicare reimbursement rate. Many EMS leaders are concerned that this rule will cap Medicaid payments under Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) programs.  

The IAFC Government Relations & Policy Department published a blog post [Link:IAFC Urges Members to Take Action to Protect the GEMT Program] breaking down the potential impact of the proposed rule. The public comment portal for the rule is open until July 21. IAFC members are encouraged to comment on the potential impact of the proposed rule. Members may use the IAFC Action Center to send prewritten comments to the public comment portal. 

New  Federal Counter-Drone Rules Explain State and Local Legal Authorities 
On July 6, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Justice released the interim final rule for Counter-UAS Authority for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement and Correctional Agencies. The interim final rule will codify the framework for implementing the SAFER SKIES Act (P.L. 119-60)  which authorizes state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement or correctional (“SLTT”) agencies to conduct counter-unmanned aircraft system (“C-UAS”) operations. This framework governs training and certification (including a two-tiered structure for detection and warning operations and for mitigation operations), authorized technologies, spectrum coordination, airspace approval, real-time air traffic control notification, mitigation reporting, privacy protections, and compliance requirements for SLTT agencies in relation to the exercise of C-UAS authority. Here is a good summary of the interim final rule.

New FFIPP Report 
This week, the federal Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program released a new report: 

F2026-05 VA: Career Firefighter Sustains Serious Burns at Residential Structure Fire with Hoarding Conditions – Virginia.

FFFIPP continues to accept requests for serious injury and line-of-duty death investigations through the NIOSH website. Firefighters and other interested parties can see what investigations FFFIPP is currently working on by visiting the ongoing reports web page.

NHTSA Calls for Autonomous Vehicle Manufactures to Improve Vehicles Interaction with Emergency Services 
On July 8, Jonathan Morrison, Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sent a letter to the manufacturers of autonomous vehicles (AVs) telling them that their companies need to focus on addressing AV interference with emergency responders. The administrator highlighted incidents where AVs have entered active emergency scenes and AVs not appropriately yielding to responding emergency vehicles. The letter states that NHTSA will meet with AV developers this month to hear their corrective actions to this issue.  

NHTSA also added the ability for first responders to report vehicle safety concerns about AVs and other vehicles they witness while on duty through NHTSA’s First Responder Incident Advanced Reporting form. 

Please Contact CMS to Preserve the GEMT Program
On May 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule on Medicaid Program; Medicaid Managed Care State Directed Payments and Medicaid Fee-for-Service Targeted Medicaid Practitioner Payments in the Federal Register. This rule was proposed in response to the Medicaid reforms from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA; P.L. 119-21). Specifically, it caps most Medicaid add-on payments at the Medicare reimbursement rate. Many EMS leaders are concerned that this rule will cap Medicaid payments under Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) programs.  

The IAFC Government Relations & Policy Department published a blog post [Link:IAFC Urges Members to Take Action to Protect the GEMT Program] breaking down the potential impact of the proposed rule. The public comment portal for the rule is open until July 21. IAFC members are encouraged to comment on the potential impact of the proposed rule. Members may use the IAFC Action Center to send prewritten comments to the public comment portal. 

New  Federal Counter-Drone Rules Explain State and Local Legal Authorities 
On July 6, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Justice released the interim final rule for Counter-UAS Authority for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement and Correctional Agencies. The interim final rule will codify the framework for implementing the SAFER SKIES Act (P.L. 119-60)  which authorizes state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement or correctional (“SLTT”) agencies to conduct counter-unmanned aircraft system (“C-UAS”) operations. This framework governs training and certification (including a two-tiered structure for detection and warning operations and for mitigation operations), authorized technologies, spectrum coordination, airspace approval, real-time air traffic control notification, mitigation reporting, privacy protections, and compliance requirements for SLTT agencies in relation to the exercise of C-UAS authority. Here is a good summary of the interim final rule.

New FFIPP Report 
This week, the federal Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program released a new report: 

F2026-05 VA: Career Firefighter Sustains Serious Burns at Residential Structure Fire with Hoarding Conditions – Virginia.

FFFIPP continues to accept requests for serious injury and line-of-duty death investigations through the NIOSH website. Firefighters and other interested parties can see what investigations FFFIPP is currently working on by visiting the ongoing reports web page.