Politico Pro
By Rachel Roubein
The No. 2 HHS official said today that much-anticipated proposed rules reforming the Stark Law and anti-kickback statute are moving along and could come sometime this year.
“They’re in the sort of pretty final stages within the department, I think, at the agencies, of getting a rule together that’s going to address both of these things,” Eric Hargan, the deputy secretary at HHS, told a Brookings Institution event on reforming the Stark Law and anti-kickback policies.
Hargan said HHS is focusing on “real, achievable goals that we can get in place, really, this year — and the earlier, the better.”
Kimberly Brandt, the CMS principal deputy administrator for operations, told reporters that the agency is coordinating the two proposed rules in hope that the time lines will “stay fairly close.” She said she couldn’t predict the exact timeline for their release, but the goal is to have the proposed rules out this year.
HHS has issued requests for information on how to change the Stark Law, anti-kickback statute and HIPAA in an effort it’s referring to as a “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care.” The last RFI, which hasn’t yet been issued, will focus on 42 CFR Part 2, a regulation requiring explicit patient consent to share some substance use medical data.
