Week Ahead: CMS, health IT brass to lay out progress on interoperability

May 6: What can be done to “eliminate barriers” to let insurers sell plans across state lines? The CMS wants to know. The agency posted a request for information seeking input back in March. Today is the last day to comment. In particular, the CMS wanted feedback about how states could use Section 1333 of the Affordable Care Act, which allows insurers to enter into a “healthcare choice compact” to sell out-of-state coverage if state regulators agree. The CMS’ goal is to boost competition and increase access to more affordable coverage. But the American Academy of Actuaries claimed savings would be limited because premiums are driven by the local cost of care, regardless of where the care is purchased. We’ll have coverage early this week analyzing industry comments.

May 7: The debate over drug prices often swings to the cost of innovation. The Senate Judiciary Committee aims to tackle the topic during a hearing titled, “Intellectual Property and the Price of Prescription Drugs: Balancing Innovation and Competition.”

May 7: For the second time in as many months, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will examine the Trump administration’s work to make good on the 21st Century Cures Act. ONC chief Dr. Donald Rucker and Dr. Kate Goodrich, director of clinical standards and quality and chief medical officer at the CMS, are slated to testify. During a hearing in March, committee members expressed cautious optimism for proposed rules the agencies released in February aimed at increasing data-sharing. “The rules will reduce administrative burden on doctors so they can spend more time with patients,” Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said at that hearing. But he also sounded a note of caution: “I also want to be aware of unintended consequences from these rules. Are these rules moving too fast … Are the standards for data elements too rigid?” Drs. Rucker and Goodrich, what say you?