Epic, Sanford among companies joining CMS prior authorization effort

By Bridget Early / May 13, 2026

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a new effort to improve electronic prior authorization uptake.

The initiative announced Wednesday is meant to help work through challenges impeding the healthcare industry from broadly implementing electronic prior authorization.

The government also intends the initiative to improve readiness for January 2027 data exchange deadlines included in a 2024 prior authorization and interoperability rule.

“Prior authorization won’t be fixed by technology alone. It requires the entire healthcare system to work together to solve real-world challenges,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a news release.

More than two dozen organizations including health systems, electronic health record vendors, physician practices, networks and digital health companies have signed on as early adopters in this cross-sector effort, CMS said in a news release.

These include:

• AtlantiCare (Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey)

• Bon Secours Mercy Health (Blue Ash, Ohio)

• Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland)

• Froedtert ThedaCare (Milwaukee and Neenah, Wisconsin)

• Ochsner Health (New Orleans)

• Providence (Renton, Washington)

• Rush University System for Health (Chicago)

• Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

• Tennessee Oncology (Nashville, Tennessee)

The vendors and networks participating in the initiative include:

• athenahealth

• eClinicalWorks

• Epic Systems

• Meditech

• Modernizing Medicine, Inc.

• Oracle Health

• TruBridge

• b.well Connected Health

• CommonWell

• eHealth Exchange

• Kno2

The initiative builds on an agreement major insurance companies struck last June to ease off prior authorizations, accelerate their response times and standardize electronic processes.

In April, insurers announced they will voluntarily standardize electronic submission requirements for services that routinely require prior authorization.