January 2, 2024

On December 20, 2023, APMA submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and CMS, in response to the proposed rule, “21st Century Cures Act: Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Committed Information Blocking Proposed Rule.” APMA expressed significant concerns related but not limited to the following:

• many providers still do not understand how to comply with the complex set of information blocking regulations;
• loose framework may lead to inconsistent reviews and application of penalties; and
• no limit on the number of disincentives applied to a particular provider, without an opportunity for corrective action.

In APMA’s comments, we offered several recommendations:

• The OIG should prioritize investigations of information blocking based directly on the number of patients impacted by the action (i.e., small practices and solo providers should not be the priority)
• Commit to ensuring an appeals process is made available to providers found guilty of information blocking, if those providers believe the OIG’s initial finding is incorrect
• The OIG and CMS should give providers the opportunity to submit corrective action plans prior to the imposition of disincentives.

To read the letter in full as well as other comment letters, visit www.apma.org/CommentLetters. Contact the APMA Health Policy and Practice Department with any questions.

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