HHS Updates Medicare/Medicaid Rules To Reduce Regulatory Burden On Provider Organizations

The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed updating Medicare and Medicaid rules to reduce the regulatory burden on provider organizations. As part of that effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released two new rules on October 24, 2011: In “Medicare and Medicaid Program; Regulatory Provisions To Promote Program Efficiency, Transparency, and Burden Reduction,” CMS addressed duplication or outdated requirements for non-hospital entities. The reforms proposed for health care professionals and provider organizations addressed 14 specific areas grouped into three categories: remove burdensome requirements, remove obsolete regulations, and respond to stakeholder concerns. In . . .