On June 6, CMS issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking new ideas from the public on how to continue the progress of the Patients over Paperwork initiative.

Since launching in fall 2017, Patients over Paperwork has streamlined regulations to significantly cut the “red tape” that weighs down our healthcare system and takes clinicians away from their primary mission—caring for patients. CMS estimates that since January 2019, the healthcare system will save an estimated 40 million hours and $5.7 billion through 2021 from reduced administrative burdens. These estimated savings come from both final and proposed rules.

This RFI provides an opportunity for stakeholders to share new ideas not conveyed during the first Patients over Paperwork RFI in 2017 and continue the national conversation on improving healthcare delivery. CMS stated that they are 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 dual enrolled (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries, beneficiary enrollment and eligibility determination, and CMS processes for issuing regulations and policies.

For more information on this CMS initiative and the RFI, click here.