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Throughout its history, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have engaged in strategic alliances with specific entities in the private sector, encompassing expansive hospital and health system networks, nursing facilities, and groups responsible for payment. Nevertheless, companies specializing in services powered by technology and firms in the digital technology sector stand in a unique position to assist CMS in overcoming significant obstacles to fulfill its objective of enhancing healthcare accessibility and equity. There exist four critical areas of opportunity wherein collaboration with businesses in technology and utilization of digital tools could significantly bolster CMS's efforts: (1) enhancing public knowledge of CMS's programs, (2) bridging the gaps in access via online healthcare services, (3) simplifying the complexities inherent in various insurance plan structures, and (4) applying services enabled by technology to tackle social determinants of health without adding to the workload of healthcare providers. This document presents instances of digital and technology-driven solutions that better patient access to healthcare services and bridge disparities in equity, alongside specific suggestions for CMS to improve and broaden the effectiveness and outreach of these interventions. Specifically, these suggestions call for forming partnerships with companies in the private sector capable of informing and assisting consumers regarding their entitlements, maintaining parity in reimbursement for telehealth services to encourage virtual care, endorsing licensure across states within insurance plans, and compensating for services that facilitate care coordination. This relieves healthcare providers from the task of screening and addressing the social needs related to health. The argument put forth is that CMS plays a critical role in utilizing innovations from services powered by technology and digital health technologies to reduce barriers to healthcare access, lessen the load on providers, foster innovation, and bridge gaps in equity across the levels of patients, providers, and innovators.
Wasim Fathima Shah (Tue,) studied this question.