CMS Announces $600 Million in Support from Health Technology Companies for States’ Medicaid Systems. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 10 health technology companies with Medicaid eligibility and enrollment contracts have voluntarily pledged $600 million to help states implement the Medicaid community engagement requirements enacted under the Working Families Tax Cut legislation. The companies pledging the support are Accenture, Acentra Health, Conduent, GDIT, Deloitte, Gainwell, Maximus, Curam by Merative, Optum, and RedMane. They intend to offer states no-cost and significantly discounted technology products and services to support community engagement implementation while accelerating broader modernization of Medicaid systems. The community engagement requirements apply to certain adults enrolled in Medicaid. States are required to implement the requirements by January 1, 2027. CMS will continue to provide technical assistance, guidance, and resources to support states throughout implementation.
OIG Report Highlights HHS Semiannual Activities to Congress. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its “Fall 2025 Semiannual Report to Congress” on its activities during the six-month period ending September 30, 2025. The agency reported a $2.43 billion monetary impact, associated with investigative receivables, audit and evaluation receivables, and potential costs savings. The report summarizes the OIG’s work to stop fraud, waste, and abuse and improve efficiency and effectiveness in HHS programs and operations. Successes highlighted in the report include: (i) Stopping health care fraud schemes and holding wrongdoers accountable; (ii) Issuing timely reports with actionable recommendations to improve program operations; and (iii) Helping to strengthen patient safety, enhance public health and well-being, and address cybersecurity risks.
CMS Holding Hospital Price Transparency Webinar February 11. CMS is holding a webinar on February 11 from 2–3 pm ET on the updated hospital price transparency (HPT) requirements that were finalized in the calendar year 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule. The webinar will address changes to the requirements, resources available to hospitals, and tips for ensuring hospital machine-readable files conform to requirements. The finalized HPT requirements are effective as of January 1, 2026, and CMS will begin enforcing the new and updated requirements on April 1, 2026. The webinar information is available here.
CMS 2025 QPP Data Submission Now Open, Deadline March 31. CMS has opened data submission for the 2025 performance year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). Data can be submitted and updated until March 31, 2026, 8 p.m. ET. Program participants will need to access the QPP sign in page and sign in using their QPP access credentials, then submit data for the 2025 performance year or review the data reported on their behalf by a third party. Data submission resources are available in the QPP Resource Library.
ASTP/ONC Resources Available for HTI-4 Final Rule. The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) resources are available for developers for the “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Electronic Prescribing, Real-Time Prescription Benefit, and Electronic Prior Authorization (HTI-4)” Final Rule. The final rule introduces updates to the ONC Health IT Certification Program and became effective October 1, 2025. HTI-4 establishes new and revised certification criteria, including: (i) Electronic prescribing enhancements, (ii) Real-time prescription benefit capabilities, and (iii) Electronic prior authorization application program interfaces. The following resources are available:
- HTI-4 Overview and Key Dates Fact Sheet
- Electronic Prior Authorization Fact Sheet
- Electronic Prescribing and Real-Time Prescription Benefit Fact Sheet
- Criteria Updates Quick Reference
CMS Releases Determinations for HCPCS Level II Q4 2025 Coding Cycle. CMS released the final determinations for the Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025 Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Level II coding cycle. The complete list of finalized coding determinations is available here. The document includes the updates of new codes and revisions to existing codes. For each application, a statement of the topic, summary of the request, and CMS’ coding determination are provided.
NIST Privacy Engineering Program Shares Project Plans for 2026. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Privacy Engineering Program released a new blog post celebrating Data Privacy Week, a global initiative led by the National Cybersecurity Alliance, and sharing the agency’s project plans for 2026. NIST expects to complete several projects including the Privacy Framework Version 1.1, Differential Privacy Publications & Deployment Registry, and Data Governance and Management Profile. Additional supplemental resources are anticipated for later in 2026, including: (i) Implementation Guidance; (ii) New Quick Start Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Business; (iii) NIST Privacy Workforce Taxonomy & Privacy Framework 1.1 Mapping; and (iv) Privacy Framework Version 1.1 Use Case.
CISA Releases Product Categories to Aid in Post-Quantum Cryptography Adoption. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released “Product Categories for Technologies That Use Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards” as part of its ongoing effort to provide updates to the product categories to facilitate post-quantum cryptography (PQC) adoption. Included in this work are hardware and software categories that use PQC standards to protect sensitive information. The document also focuses on categories of products that are widely used or transitioning to the use of PQC standards, such as cloud services, web software, and endpoint security. CISA recommends that organizations should acquire only PQC-capable products when planning acquisitions and procuring products in these categories.