The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks public comment on a proposed rule to formally withdraw the December 2020 CMS interoperability and prior authorization proposed rule and to incorporate feedback received from the previous public comment period. This new proposed rule has five key provisions including those related to interoperability, improving prior authorization (PA) processes, and a new electronic PA measure for Merit-Based Incentive Payments System (MIPS)-eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and MIPS-eligible physicians. Five requests for information are also included in the rule, among them those concerned with the exchange of information related to behavioral health and maternal health and accelerating adoption of standards for social risk factor data. As of 2019, 63 percent of rural physicians electronically exchanged patient health information in some manner (either sending, receiving, or querying). Comments due by March 13.
