On December 6, 2022, APA Services submitted a response (PDF, 293KB)opens in new window to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) request for information (RFI) seeking input on a future National Directory of Healthcare Providers and Services (NDH)opens in new window that would serve as a nationwide “centralized data hub” for information about health-care providers, facilities, and entities.
APA supports the concept of a national provider directory to improve the ability of patients to find providers who best meet their needs. Despite commendable efforts by various stakeholders amongst the states to maintain up-to-date information about local providers, the online directories utilized by various insurance plans often contain outdated information about a provider’s services, specialty, or capacity to accept new patients. This RFI follows several recent congressional directives requiring Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, and private insurance plans to collect certain information concerning the providers within their networks such as their identity, locations, qualifications, and availability to accept new patients.
The association’s comments strongly recommend the inclusion of psychologists—including those who do not accept Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance—in this NDH and supports a way of connecting patients to mental and behavioral health providers who can meet their needs, as well as combatting long-standing issues with narrow insurance networks. However, the response encourages CMS to design the directory to allow providers to choose what personal information can be shared with NDH and publicly. The response also encouraged CMS to enhance security protections for NDH data and take steps to prevent unscrupulous monetization of NDH data by private entities.
The association expects that CMS will continue to release further details about this directory through future rulemaking. The association will continue to monitor developments on this proposal as they unfold.
For more information, contact Andrew Strickland.