CMS rule would allow qualified entities to share/sell non-public analyses of claims data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued a final rule that would allow organizations approved as qualified entities to share or sell non-public analyses of Medicare and non-Medicare claims data to authorized users. CMS has approved 15 qualified entities to date, most of which are still preparing for public reporting, a requirement of the qualified entity program. The final rule contains a few changes and clarifications to the proposed rule. CMS has added federal agencies to its list of authorized users and modified the definition of authorized users to include contractors. As urged by the AHA and others, CMS also modified the definition of hospital association to include local-level organizations and is considering making Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program data available to qualified entities in future rulemaking. The agency plans to provide additional sub-regulatory guidance regarding restrictions on the use of the analyses on the qualified entity website.