CMS issued the rules on October 18, 2011, in response to President Obama’s Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” and consistent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Plan for Retrospective Review of Existing Rules. Overall, the final rule and two proposed rules appear to make significant progress in eliminating duplicative and unnecessary requirements, while providing hospitals and other providers with greater control over how to best achieve patient health care objectives.

On October 18, 2011, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued one final and two proposed rules in response to President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” and consistent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Plan for Retrospective Review of Existing Rules. Among the goals of EO 13563 is to reduce health care delivery costs by streamlining Medicare and Medicaid regulations for hospitals and other providers.