by CMS - MLNConnects
Jul 7th, 2025
News
CMS Launches New Model to Target Wasteful, Inappropriate Services in Original Medicare
CMS announced a new Innovation Center model aimed at helping ensure people with Original Medicare receive safe, effective, and necessary care. Through the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, CMS will partner with companies specializing in enhanced technologies to test ways to provide an improved and expedited prior authorization process relative to Original Medicare’s existing processes, helping patients and providers avoid unnecessary or inappropriate care and safeguarding federal taxpayer dollars.
CMS issued a Request for Applications for companies interested in participating in the WISeR Model.
More Information:
- Full press release
- Federal Register notice
- Model Overview (PDF) fact sheet
- WISeR Model webpage
Publications & Multimedia
Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Services — Revised
Learn what’s changed (PDF):
- Updated:
- Telehealth service requirements
- Information on prescribing controlled medications like buprenorphine using telehealth through December 31, 2025
- Added information on what Medicare covers:
- Opioid treatment programs
- Safety planning intervention for patients in crisis and post discharge follow-up contacts intervention
- Medication for opioid use disorder treatment in the emergency department
Information for Patients
CMS Notifies Individuals Potentially Impacted by Data Incident
CMS is notifying Medicare beneficiaries whose personal information may have been involved in a data incident affecting Medicare.gov accounts. CMS identified suspicious activity related to unauthorized creation of certain beneficiary online accounts using personal information obtained from unknown external sources. CMS takes this situation very seriously. The safeguarding and security of personally identifiable information is of the utmost importance to CMS.
Read the full press release.
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