HR 5347: Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act

HR 5347 in plain English: This bill delays a 2025 Medicare requirement that accountable care organizations (ACOs) use a specific electronic system to report quality measures, allowing them to use older reporting methods through 2029. It also requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to run a pilot program from 2028 to 2032 testing alternative digital reporting approaches for ACOs.

Stated purpose

This bill delays a requirement for accountable care organizations (ACOs) in Medicare to switch to a specific electronic reporting system for quality data, and directs the government to run a pilot program testing alternative digital reporting methods.

Key points

• Lets ACOs continue using prior quality-measure reporting methods through 2029, delaying a 2025 electronic-system mandate.
• Requires CMS to run a pilot program testing alternative digital reporting methods for ACOs from 2028 to 2032.
• ACOs participating in the pilot program are exempt from other reporting requirements during that period.
• CMS must publicly post an analysis and recommendations from the pilot program.

Arguments supporters make

• Forcing ACOs to switch to a new electronic system all at once could disrupt care coordination and quality reporting before the technology is proven ready, so a delay protects patients and providers.
• Testing new digital reporting methods through a pilot before requiring them nationwide is a smarter, more careful approach than a one-size-fits-all mandate.
• Giving ACOs flexibility in how they report quality data reduces administrative burden and lets providers focus more on patient care rather than paperwork.

Arguments opponents make

• Delaying the move to a standardized electronic reporting system slows down modernization efforts and may make it harder to compare quality data consistently across ACOs.
• Extending the old reporting methods for years means Medicare may miss out on more accurate, complete data that the newer electronic system was designed to provide.
• A pilot program running from 2028 to 2032 further postpones a final decision, meaning the healthcare system could go nearly a decade without a uniform, up-to-date quality reporting standard.

Tradeoffs

Giving ACOs more time and flexibility eases a potentially difficult transition and avoids near-term disruptions, but it also delays the standardization and data consistency that the newer electronic reporting system was designed to achieve.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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