When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently introduced a new accessibility regulation, it sent a wave of change that could easily capsize the unprepared.
Previously, healthcare insurers had a grace period of 2-3 weeks to provide members with alternative format communications.
Now, CMS requires all formats to be accessible to members on the same day they are requested.
When a leading US managed care provider came to us, they were already behind schedule, receiving approved content 3-4 weeks late. But the immutable CMS deadline remained unchanged.
They also faced the pressures of potential exorbitant express shipping fees for the delivery of printed braille and large print documents to meet the CMS’s new deadline.