[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 16834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08181]



[[Page 16834]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 406, 407, 422, 423, 431, 438, 457, 482, and 485

[CMS-9115-N]
RIN 0938-AT79


Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act; Interoperability and Patient Access for Medicare Advantage 
Organization and Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, 
CHIP Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, Issuers of Qualified 
Health Plans in the Federally-facilitated Exchanges and Health Care 
Providers; Supplement and Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule; supplement and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period for the proposed rule 
entitled ``Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act; Interoperability and Patient Access for Medicare 
Advantage Organization and Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid 
Agencies, CHIP Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, Issuers of 
Qualified Health Plans in the Federally-facilitated Exchanges and 
Health Care Providers'' that appeared in the March 4, 2019 Federal 
Register. The comment period for the proposed rule, which would end on 
May 3, 2019, is extended 30 days to June 3, 2019. We additionally note 
that based on public comments received on this proposed rule, we will 
adjust the effective dates of our policies to allow for adequate 
implementation timelines, as appropriate.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule (84 FR 7610) is 
extended to 5 p.m., eastern daylight time, on June 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as outlined in the March 4, 2019 
proposed rule (84 FR 7610). Please choose only one method listed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexandra Mugge, (410) 786-4457, for 
issues related to interoperability, CMS health IT strategy, technical 
standards and patient matching.
    Natalie Albright, (410) 786-1671, for issues related to Medicare 
Advantage.
    John Giles, (410) 786-1255, for issues related to Medicaid.
    Emily Pedneau, (301) 492-4448, for issues related to Qualified 
Health Plans.
    Meg Barry, (410) 786-1536, for issues related to CHIP.
    Thomas Novak, (202) 322-7235, for issues related to trust exchange 
networks and payer to payer coordination.
    Sharon Donovan, (410) 786-9187, for issues related to federal-state 
data exchange.
    Daniel Riner, (410) 786-0237, for issues related to Physician 
Compare.
    Ashley Hain, (410) 786-7603, for issues related to hospital public 
reporting.
    Melissa Singer, (410) 786-0365, for issues related to provider 
directories.
    CAPT Scott Cooper, USPHS, (410) 786-9465, for issues related to 
hospital and critical access hospital conditions of participation.
    Lisa Bari, (410) 786-0087, for issues related to advancing 
interoperability in innovative models.
    Russell Hendel, (410) 786-0329, for issues related to the 
Collection of Information or the Regulation Impact Analysis sections.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the ``Medicare and Medicaid Programs; 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Interoperability and 
Patient Access for Medicare Advantage Organization and Medicaid Managed 
Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, CHIP Agencies and CHIP Managed 
Care Entities, Issuers of Qualified Health Plans in the Federally-
facilitated Exchanges and Health Care Providers'' proposed rule that 
appeared in the March 4, 2019 Federal Register (84 FR 7610), we 
solicited public comments on proposed policies that aim to move the 
health care ecosystem in the direction of interoperability, and to 
signal our commitment to the vision set out in the 21st Century Cures 
Act and Executive Order 13813 to improve access to, and the quality of, 
information that Americans need to make informed health care decisions, 
including data about health care prices and outcomes, while minimizing 
reporting burdens on affected plans, health care providers, or payers.
    Since the issuance of the proposed rule, we have received inquiries 
from a variety of stakeholders, including healthcare provider 
organizations and industry representatives requesting an extension to 
the comment period. In order to maximize the opportunity for the public 
to provide meaningful input to CMS, we believe that it is important to 
allow additional time for the public to prepare comments on the 
proposed rule. In addition, we believe that granting an extension to 
the public comment period in this instance would further our overall 
objective to obtain public input on the proposed provisions to move the 
health care ecosystem in the direction of interoperability. Therefore, 
we are extending the comment period for the proposed rule for an 
additional 30 days.
    While we believe it is in the best interest of the public and our 
proposed policies to extend the comment period for this proposed rule, 
we also acknowledge that stakeholders require appropriate 
implementation timelines that could be impacted by this extension. 
Therefore, we note that based on public comments received on this 
proposed rule, we will adjust the effective dates of our policies to 
allow for adequate implementation timelines as appropriate.

    Dated: April 18, 2019.
Seema Verma,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2019-08181 Filed 4-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P