The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a press release with a Request for Information (RFI) seeking new ideas from the public on how to continue progress of the Patients Over Paperwork Initiative to be published in the June 11, 2019 Federal Register. The initiative was originally launched in the fall of 2017. Since that time, CMS estimates that through regulatory reform alone, the health care system will save an estimated 40 million hours and $5.7 billion through 2021. These estimated savings come from both final and proposed rules.

This RFI invites patients and their families, the medical community, and other health care stakeholders to recommend further changes to rules, policies, and procedures that would shift more of clinicians’ time — and our health care system’s resources — from needless paperwork to high quality care that improves patient health. CMS is especially seeking innovative ideas that broaden perspectives on potential solutions to relieve burden and ways to improve:

• Reporting and documentation requirements;
• Coding and documentation requirements for Medicare or Medicaid payment;
• Prior authorization procedures;
• Policies and requirements for rural providers, clinicians, and beneficiaries;
• Policies and requirements for dually enrolled (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries;
• Beneficiary enrollment and eligibility determination; and
• CMS processes for issuing regulations and policies.

Comments on this initiative must be submitted by August 12, 2019. For additional information, visit the Patients over Paperwork page on the CMS website.