Subject: Request for Information; Reducing Administrative Burden To Put Patients Over
Paperwork; RIN 0938–ZB54
Dear Administrator Verma:
The Regulatory Relief Coalition (the Coalition) is pleased to have the opportunity to comment on
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Patients over Paperwork Request for
Information (RFI), which was published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2019. The Coalition
includes physician professional organizations dedicated to ensuring that Medicare patients have
timely access to medically necessary services through the reduction in administrative burdens —
including prior authorization (PA) — that divert physician focus away from patient care.
The Coalition applauds the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) focus on
relieving the extraordinary regulatory burdens faced by physicians and other providers
participating in the Medicare Program so as to improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to
medically necessary health care services. We are encouraged by the agency’s efforts to reduce
administrative burdens imposed on providers under Medicare’s Fee-for-Service programs. At
the same time, however, PA requirements imposed by Medicare Advantage Organizations
(MAOs) under the Medicare Advantage (MA) program pose the single greatest administrative
burden for physicians caring for Medicare patients.
Read full letter here
