AHA comments on proposed rule expanding QE use of Medicare data

The AHA today applauded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for publishing a comprehensive proposed rule on expanding uses of Medicare data by qualified entities and recommended several changes. Specifically, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels recommends that CMS require QEs to publicly list the Medicare claims datasets they receive from CMS and the datasets they intend to combine with the Medicare claims data; require health insurers to provide a QE with data on all of their covered lives before receiving a non-public analysis from the QE; and make not only Medicare but Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program data available to QEs. In addition, AHA urges CMS to revise how it defines a provider or supplier’s patients for non-public analyses; explicitly allow business associates to link certain data on a provider or supplier’s behalf; and expand its definition of hospital association. AHA also urges CMS to revise its estimate of the rule’s impact on providers and suppliers, which appears too low.