2026-05203NoticeWallet

CMS Invites Feedback on Public Data Collection Burdens and Usefulness

Published Date: 3/17/2026

Notice

Summary

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) wants your thoughts on their plan to collect info from the public. This helps make sure the questions they ask aren’t too much work and actually useful. If you have ideas or concerns, you’ve got until April 16, 2026, to speak up—no money changes yet, just a chance to improve how info is gathered.

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.

Face-to-Face Documentation Burden

If you are a physician or an authorized non-physician practitioner who certifies Medicaid home health services, you must document a face-to-face encounter before certifying that home health is needed. CMS estimates 381,785 respondents, 2,495,355 total annual responses, and 416,724 total annual hours to complete this documentation (writing/typing/dictating and signing/dating).

Expanded Authority for NPs, CNSs, and PAs

Section 3708 of the CARES Act and CMS action allow nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants to certify and order Medicare and Medicaid home health services and to perform the required face-to-face encounter independently for patients they order services for, in accordance with state law. CMS amended 42 CFR 440.70 to remove the prior requirement that authorized non-physician practitioners communicate the clinical finding to the ordering physician.

Your PRIA Score

Score Hidden

Personalized for You

How does this regulation affect your finances?

Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this federal register document and every other regulation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to start

Key Dates

Published Date
Comments Due
3/17/2026
4/16/2026

Department and Agencies

Department
Independent Agency
Agency
Health and Human Services Department
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Source: View HTML

Related Federal Register Documents

Previous / Next Documents

Back to Federal Register

Take It Personal

Get Your Personalized Policy View

Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.

Already have an account? Sign in