MACPAC Won't Weigh In On CMS' Proposed Interoperability Rule
Federal Medicaid advisers expressed general support for CMS' goal to encourage better sharing of electronic health records through its recent proposed rule on interoperability, but they declined Friday (April 12) to weigh in with any formal comments on the proposed rule, even as a few commissioners worried that the rule's timeline for implementing new data-access requirements is too aggressive.

CMS Pilot To Test Electronic Transaction Compliance With HIPAA
CMS announced a pilot program Wednesday (April 10) to test providers' compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules when conducting electronic transactions. Providers that volunteer and are selected to take part will be given the opportunity to work one-on-one with HHS to resolve compliance issues before being exempt from compliance reviews for a year.

Providers Tout Info Blocking Exception That Worries Former ONC Official
A former senior privacy official at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is concerned one of ONC's recently proposed exceptions to information blocking would allow organizations to refuse to share electronic health information (EHI) by misapplying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy law to their internal policies. However, some provider groups praised the proposed exception because it gives providers more leeway to protect what one group says is sensitive data.

Doctors, Hospitals: Align 42 CFR Part 2 With HIPAA, Reduce Burdens
Physician and hospital groups called for aligning the strict privacy scheme that requires explicit patient consent to share substance abuse treatment records with the more lax Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards, as well as for fewer regulations, in response to the HHS Office of Civil Rights' (OCR) request for feedback on how HIPAA might be getting in the way of value-based care