Insights

Federal policy efforts to advance health data exchange and interoperability are continuing to change rapidly. The latest changes are the publication of two final rules by the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) finalizing parts of the of the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI-2) Proposed Rule. These rules adopt requirements regarding the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) (HTI-2 Final Rule), and create a new Information Blocking exception under Protecting Care Access (HTI-3 Final Rule), on December 16thand 17th, respectively.

On Monday, July 15, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs released proposed rules (the “Proposed Rules”) which require certain New Jersey healthcare providers (i.e., physician assistants, physicians, nurses, and midwives) who provide perinatal treatment and care to pregnant persons to undergo bias training. The training is designed to root out prejudices and stereotypes that may negatively impact the quality of care delivered by these providers to patients during pregnancy, labor, delivery, postpartum, and neonatal periods.  The Proposed Rules were promulgated in an effort “to address pronounced racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes in New Jersey.”

On October 14, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) directing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider new healthcare payment and delivery models the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)—part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and created by the Affordable Care Act—can test to lower drug costs and promote access to innovative drug therapies for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The EO specifies the HHS Secretary should include models that may lead to lower cost-sharing for commonly used drugs and support value-based payment initiatives that promote high-quality care. The Secretary’s report, describing any models selected, must be submitted within 90 days of the EO’s issuance.