HHS Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a news conference on Nov. 20. Azar said the new HHS policy will help citizens provide feedback on new rules.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a news conference on Nov. 20. Azar said the new HHS policy will help citizens provide feedback on new rules. Susan Walsh/AP

New HHS Policy Requires All Information to Be Released for Upcoming Rules

Experts criticize and question its purpose as the Trump administration winds down.

The Health and Human Services Department implemented a new policy on Monday that requires all information associated with new rules to be made public in an attempt to be more transparent. 

The policy requires “all assumptions, working papers, models, and other information used as part of any impact analysis (e.g., economic, actuarial) associated with a rule (including the setting of payment rates) or demonstration project” to be posted on HHS’ website when the results of the analysis are publicly released, with certain exceptions. HHS said the purpose is to provide the public with more insight into the regulations the government seeks to impose. However, several experts are skeptical of the merits of this policy change during the Trump administration's last few weeks in office. 

“The department's regulations and demonstration projects involving federal health care programs, the Affordable Care Act; the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; or the Public Health Service Act are amongst the most economically significant actions undertaken by any federal agency,” wrote HHS Secretary Alex Azar, in the notice posted in the Federal Register. “The department believes that its decision-making ought to be as transparent as appropriate to better enable the citizenry to comment on its proposed rules and demonstration projects.” 

HHS said the new policy won’t hinder its ability to respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic and will not affect the work or independence of its technical experts. The policy is not retroactive, but the department said it would consider requests on a case-by-case basis to release information on rulemaking before November 30. 

However, some experts said the policy may have ulterior motives. 

“It weaponizes seemingly benign transparency requirements for a deregulatory effect, by limiting the type of information the agency can use and thereby limiting agency discretion,” Margaret Foster Riley, law professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in public health law among other areas, told Government Executive. “It is particularly problematic when, as in health care, confidentiality rules limit publication of data.” 

The policy has a “similar effect” to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule to combat “secret science,” which requires scientists to disclose all of their data before the EPA will consider their study’s findings, she said. The rule is expected to be finalized before Inauguration Day, according to ProPublica

Genna Reed, lead science and policy analyst in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, also said the policy is “related” to the EPA rule, “but is slightly different in that it’s not as specific; it’s also not a rule,” therefore she believes it will be “significantly easier” for the Biden administration to get rid of it. 

“Under the Trump administration we have seen attempts to undermine [and] politicize science at the agencies and there are overt instances of this with pulling grant funding for important scientific projects or reducing scientific capacity at the agencies,” she told Government Executive. “There are also more subtle changes that are happening in the regulatory process, like these types of changes to the ways in which agencies must release and publicize data to make it easier for industry stakeholders to basically change the ways agencies can rely on science to make decisions.” 

James Goodwin, senior policy analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform who specializes in regulations, pointed to other recent HHS policies and proposed rules meant to “gum up the works” for the Biden administration, as Government Executive previously reported. According to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ tracker, there are 147 regulatory actions in various stages of the rulemaking process, the majority of which are from HHS and EPA.

“There is no question that is meant as a political landmine that they’re leaving behind,” Goodwin said, in reference to the new policy.  

Moreover, even if all the information is released, “that doesn’t necessarily mean that these analyses are going to be transparent,” Goodwin stated. “They are dense, difficult documents to read and that’s sort of a different kind of transparency.” 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.