Webinars and Member Engagement | |
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Advocacy Opportunity to Protect Telehealth Policies
Key Takeaway: CHIME is submitting a letter to Congressional leadership advocating for an extension of Medicare telehealth policies, and we urge every CHIME member and Foundation Firm to make their voice heard by signing your organization onto this letter by Friday, March 7th.
Why It Matters: We need your immediate action to help extend critical Medicare telehealth policies as Congress negotiates government funding for fiscal year 2026. The current extension, passed in December, expires on March 31st, leaving telehealth access at risk without Congressional intervention.
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You can find the letter here, which includes details of the telehealth services that are set to expire.
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The text is similar to a stakeholder letter that CHIME sent to lawmakers in December.
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To sign your organization’s name onto this important advocacy effort, please fill out the form here. The deadline to sign is March 7th at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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If you have any questions, contact Cassie Ballard, CHIME’s Director of Congressional Affairs, at cballard@chimecentral.org.
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CHIME Public Policy in the News
Key Takeaway: Our team has secured incredible media coverage lately, including quotes highlighting our advocacy efforts. Check out the links below to see the impact we’re making!
Why It Matters:
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President Trump Signals Support for Clean CR
Key Takeaway: President Trump called on Congress to fund the government through the remainder of this fiscal year by way of a continuing resolution (CR) amid stalled progress on a broader omnibus spending package for 2025. In a social media post last week, the president specifically stated that his administration is working with the House and Senate on a "clean" CR through Sept. 30.
Why It Matters: It’s not clear whether there's bipartisan buy-in for this plan, especially as Democrats continue to push for language restricting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as well as mandating that the White House spend funding it is withholding. Regardless, Democratic support will almost certainly be needed on the floor of both chambers to ensure the government remains funded past March 14. At this point, the prospects of a shutdown are continuing to grow absent a sudden flash of bipartisan cooperation.
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E&C Republicans Launch Data Privacy Working Group
Key Takeaway: House Energy & Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Vice Chairman John Joyce (R-PA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather insights for a federal data privacy and security framework. They highlighted the importance of the digital economy, which adds $2.6 trillion in value and employs millions. Comments are due Apr. 7. CHIME plans to comment.
Why It Matters: Responses will be shared with the newly-formed data privacy working group which is made up of 9 Republicans on the committee. The RFI asks stakeholders to comment on various areas including roles and responsibilities in the digital economy, personal information and consumer rights, existing privacy frameworks, data security, artificial intelligence, and accountability and enforcement. The goal is to address the challenges posed by technological advancements and the complex web of state and federal laws, ensuring clear digital protections for Americans.
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HHS Issues Policy Statement Changing Rulemaking Procedures
Key Takeaway: HHS Secretary Kennedy announced via the Federal Register they are, “rescinding the policy on Public Participation in Rule Making (Richardson Waiver) and re-aligning the Department's rule-making procedures with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).” The effect of this decision means that agencies within HHS have the discretion as to whether or not they will offer public feedback on certain HHS policies.
Why It Matters: HHS’ justification is that while the APA sets a process for publication of federal rules, it also allows agencies to exclude matters pertaining to “agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts.” Moving forward, they are not planning on offering a comment process for the matters listed above. HHS does indicate that they will continue offering the ability to comment where it is required by law. The overarching rationale by HHS is that comment processes are costly, “contrary to the efficient operation of the Department, and impede the Department's flexibility to adapt quickly to legal and policy mandates.”
This is an evolving situation, and CHIME is monitoring it closely as we seek to get more clarification on how this policy will be applied.
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CHIME Leads Stakeholder Letter Asking for Recission of HIPAA Security Proposed Rule
Key Takeaway: CHIME led a stakeholder letter to the Trump Administration requesting that they rescind the proposed Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule issued during the last days of the Biden administration. Read the letter here.
Why It Matters: While the proposed rule calls for adopting several strong security practices, the totality of the dozens of new requirements represents a massive set of unfunded mandates that the majority of healthcare providers would be unable to meet in aggressive timelines allotted. The rule furthermore removes “addressable standards” making all standards mandatory, contains no carveouts for small, rural and under-resourced providers, goes further than the Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) jointly developed by HHS and the sector, and has been estimated to cost at least $9 billion to the health sector in year one with no guarantee that the requirements would indeed result in a better cyber posture. Finally, every single new requirement would have to be meticulously documented creating massive regulatory burdens.
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NSF Seeking Input on AI Action Plan
Key Takeaway: The administration, through the National Science Foundation (NSF), has issued an RFI seeking input on developing President Trump's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. Comments are due March 15. CHIME plans to submit comments in response to this request.
Why It Matters: Trump’s future AI Action Plan intends to “sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance,” as directed by a Presidential Executive Order on Jan. 23. The plan aims to avoid burdensome requirements that could hinder private sector AI innovation. Input is requested from academia, industry, private sector organizations, and government entities on priority actions for the plan. The plan will address various AI policy topics, including hardware, data centers, cybersecurity, data privacy, national security, and more.
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Update on Trump’s Executive Actions
Key Takeaway: President Trump has issued more than a hundred executive actions, more than any other President. Several of the executive actions are facing legal challenges while others continue to execute his campaign promises. For a complete list of executive actions go here.
Why It Matters: Below is a sampling of the President’s actions.
Funding Freeze – A judge has indefinitely blocked President Trump’s funding freeze ban put in place in January.
Regulations Rollback – President Trump has directed federal agencies to reduce the size of the Federal Government and increase its accountability. It targets unnecessary elements of the federal bureaucracy to minimize waste, reduce inflation, and promote freedom and innovation. The order also revokes certain regulations and terminates several Federal Advisory Committees.
DOGE – The White House has publicly stated that Elon Musk is not the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and instead is a special government employee. He nonetheless remains a prominent figure surrounding any DOGE discussions and attended the President’s first cabinet meeting. The White House has named Amy Gleason interim administrator of DOGE.
Terminated programs – President Trump has directed agencies to make public all terminated programs, contracts and grants.
Research Grants – The administration’s order to limit cuts related to National Institute of Health (NIH) research funding is being contested in the courts by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and others. The cuts have been temporarily blocked by the courts.
Federal layoffs – There have been numerous challenges to the White House’s directives to downsize the size of the federal government. A U.S. District Judge ruled against unions contesting the layoffs stating they do not have standing while another judge declined to halt the firings of probationary employees. On Thursday yet another judge ruled that the mass firing by the Office of Personnel Management (HR arm of the administration) are illegal and that the Trump Administration must cease; the order does not call for rehiring those already terminated. Taking things a step further, the White House has directed federal agencies to plan for widescale reductions in force by March13. Federal employees reside in every state across the country; the impact of these layoffs is still unfolding.
Price Transparency – The White House has directed federal agencies to strengthen and enforce health care price transparency regulations with enforcement beginning in 90 days. They state, “Hospitals and health plans were not adequately held to account when their price transparency data was incomplete or not even posted at all.” (Fact Sheet here)
MAHA Commission – The White House has established the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). It will be comprised of federal representatives and is required to produce a strategy to combat “critical health challenges facing our citizens, including the rising rates of mental health disorders, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases” within 180 days.
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ASTP Leadership Update
Key Takeaway: The website for the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) has been updated to reflect that Steve Posnack is now serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Acting National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Steve has served in various positions at ASTP (formerly ONC) over the past 20 years.
Why It Matters: In this role, he leads the execution of ASTP’s mission and represents its interests at a national and international level. Steve will be overseeing ASTP’s federal policy coordination, regulatory development, public-private initiatives, and the HHS-wide functions led by HHS’ Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.
The National Coordinator is appointed by the Secretary of HHS and is not a Senate confirmed position.
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OCR Issues Penalty after Cyber Incident
Key Takeaway: On Feb. 20 the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed a $1,500,000 penalty on provider for HIPAA violations following a cyberattack that exposed the protected health information (PHI) of nearly 200,000 individuals. The Notice of Proposed Determination may be found here.
Why It Matters: The breach, caused by “credential stuffing,” occurred between September and November 2018. OCR’s investigation found the provider failed to conduct a thorough risk analysis, implement adequate security measures, and regularly review information system activity.
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Rural Health Connect Fund Deadline Approaching
Key Takeaway: The deadline to submit for the Rural Health Connect Fund is April 1. Learn more about the six steps to receive funding here.
Why It Matters: Established in 2012 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Program is intended to increase access to broadband for eligible health care providers (HCPs), especially those serving rural areas. Eligible rural HCPs, and those non-rural HCPs that are members of a consortium that has a majority rural HCP sites, can receive a 65 percent discount from the fund on all eligible expenses. HCPs are required to contribute the remaining 35 percent to participate in the program. Additional details here and here.
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Policy Team Picks of the Week | |
College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
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