At CMS, we are committed to transparency. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we have powerful new tools to advance transparency in healthcare and provide consumers with information to help them make informed healthcare choices. The Open Payments program creates greater public transparency about the financial transactions among doctors, teaching hospitals, drug and device manufacturers, and other healthcare businesses. We’re pleased to share today the latest steps we are taking to bring accountability to healthcare as a result of Open Payments.

On February 18, applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations (GPOs) will register for Open Payments and begin to submit data to CMS. This date marks the first of two phases of Open Payments registration and data submission. Later, in May of this year, applicable entities will complete the second phase by submitting additional, detailed payment information. We believe that this approach helps to ensure the accuracy of the data collected, and provides the time stakeholders need to make their submissions, particularly those with large data files.

Below, please find more detailed information about the steps for registering and submitting data.

Open Payments Registration and Data Submission Overview

On February 18, Open Payments registration and data submission for applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs will open with a two-phased approach for this first reporting year of this new program:

• Phase 1 (February 18 through March 31) includes user registraion in CMS' Enterprise Portal and submission of corporate profile information and aggregate 2013 payment data.
• Phase 2 (begins in May and extends for no fewer than 30 days) includes industry registration in the Open Payments system, submission of detailed 2013 payment data, and legal attestation to the accuracy of the data.

Both phases of data submission will be complete by August 1, and at that time healthcare providers and manufacturers will have an opportunity to review and correct inaccuracies. No action is needed from covered recipients (affected physicians and teaching hospitals) at this time.

Phase 1 Instructions

Step 1: New User Registration with CMS Enterprise Portal (EIDM Registration)

• Go to the CMS Enterprise Portal (https://portal.cms.gov)
• Select “New User Registration”
• Read the Terms and Conditions and indicate your agreement by clicking “OK”
• Fill out the requested fields on the “Your Information” page
• Choose your user ID, password and challenge questions
• On the “Registration Complete” page, click on “OK”
• After clicking on “OK”, you will receive a confirmation email message that contains your user ID and a link to the CMS Enterprise Portal
• Log back in to the CMS Enterprise Portal by clicking “Login to CMS Secure Portal” and entering your newly created user ID and password
• Once logged in, click on “Request Application Access” on the right hand side of the CMS Enterprise Portal home page
• Request access to Open Payments system by clicking on “Request New Application Access”
• Select “Open Payments” from the dropdown menu
• A second dropdown will then appear prompting you to select an Open Payments role in the system
• Select “Open Payments User”
• You will then see an acknowledgement message, click on “OK”
• Then log out of the system by clicking “Log Out” in the upper right hand corner of the page
• Log in to the CMS Enterprise Portal once again by clicking “Login to CMS Secure Portal” and entering your user ID and password
• On the CMS Enterprise Portal home page you should now see a yellow button labeled “Open Payments” next to “My Portal” on the upper left hand side of the page
• When you click on “Open Payments” you should have two options that appear beneath it – “Overview” and “Registration”
• Click on “Registration” to access details about the first step of Phase 1 of detailed data submission, CMS Enterprise Portal (EIDM Registration)

The CMS user ID is required for any future data submissions in the Open Payments system. The authorized official (an entity’s executive-level officer who can legally represent their organization) must register in the CMS Enterprise Portal and obtain their user ID. CMS registration must be completed before industry can begin any 2013 data submission activities. Note: The authorized official can then delegate data submission responsibilities to others (referred to as authorized representatives) after CMS Enterprise Portal registration.

Step 2: Aggregate Data Submission

• After CMS Enterprise Portal registration has been completed, the user will be directed to a webpage that will explain the requirements for Phase 1 data submission. The authorized official (or an authorized representative) should download the data submission instruction document and the sample template available on this page. These materials are not available on the Open Payments website, and are only accessible after CMS registration is completed.
• After completion, the authorized official or authorized representatives must submit the corporate profile information and aggregate 2013 payment data to CMS as instructed on the webpage and in the data submission instruction document.
• When Phase 1 data has been submitted as instructed, the Open Payments Help Desk will reply directly to the submitter, confirming if the submitted data meets all requirements. If information is missing or improperly formatted, CMS will provide additional instructions on how to correct the data submission.

Coming Next – Phase 2 Instructions

After Phase 1 registration and data submission, CMS will utilize your submitted data to create your entity profile and prepare for Phase 2 data submission.

When Phase 2 of registration and data submission begins (in approximately May, 2014), the authorized official in the officer role will need to complete the following actions:

• Using their CMS user ID from Phase 1, complete Open Payments registration for the entity and the authorized official by providing additional information within the Open Payments system,
• Confirm the accuracy of the entity profile data that was submitted in Phase 1 and pre-populated in the Open Payments system for Phase 2, and
• Upload or enter, submit, and attest to the accuracy of the detailed 2013 payment data.

Additional Considerations
For the 2013 program year, CMS will not enforce penalties for reporting non-compliance until after the close of Phase 2 registration and data submission. The review and correction phases will begin by August 1; additional information regarding the review and correction processes will be announced in spring 2014.

This phased approach to Open Payments registration and data submission is for the 2013 program year only (data collected between August 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013).

More Information

Next week, we will announce the date and registration information for an industry-focused webinar event, aimed at providing extensive discussion of the phased approach to Open Payments registration and data submission.

For more information about Open Payments, please visit the Open Payments website. To sign up for the Open Payments listserv, access the website at http://go.cms.gov/openpayments, and enter your email address on the main page, in the "Email Updates" box or on the "Contact Us" page.

Thank you and we look forward to working with you on this important program.