Lexology July 3, 2024
On July 1, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule in the Federal Register to implement a 21st Century Cures Act provision establishing penalties (called “appropriate disincentives”) for certain health care providers determined by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to have committed information blocking. Health care providers have been subject to the information blocking regulations since April 5, 2021, but there has been no enforcement mechanism under the Cures Act to date. The disincentives for certain Medicare-participating hospitals and clinicians become effective July 31, 2024, while disincentives associated with the Medicare Shared...