Things in the federal government sure are confusing right now. It feels like laws and policies are constantly changing. But hey, we’ll probably get some answers soon because—wait, what?
Checks notes.
Never mind: CMS has canceled webinar after webinar where stakeholders could have asked questions.
The deets
Though the agency hasn’t canceled all public conferences—it still held its annual open payments webinar on March 13, for instance—it has axed at least ten forums since 2025 began, leaving just a few Q&A opportunities on the docket.
The most recent switch-up? On March 13, CMS announced it’s postponing its 2025 Conference for Building a Healthier America, a free hybrid conference previously set for April 23–24 in Bethesda, Maryland, hosted by the CMS Office of Minority Health. The conference was originally called the 2025 CMS Health Equity Conference: Building a Healthier America, but its name was shortened and the office’s name was removed in the postponement email.
Another casualty: open door forums. CMS has held these public forums regularly over the last two decades.
CMS began canceling these webinars en masse starting Jan. 31, when the agency sent out a two-sentence email to anyone on the Open Door Forum mailing list that read: “The February Open Door Forums 2025 has been canceled. We’ll be in touch with updates as available.”
According to the agency’s website, these webinars are meant to foster “live dialogue between CMS and the stakeholder community,” giving the public the opportunity to ask questions about new policies and initiatives. Topics include things like Medicare payment and billing, provider fee schedules, and announcements about new rules and quality programs.
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After February’s cancellations, additional forums set for March were called off days before they were set to occur. This includes one about ambulances; one about physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals; one about skilled nursing facilities/long-term care; and one about hospitals.
By early April last year, all those groups had at least one Open Door Forum, and two had at least one by this time last year, according to transcripts on CMS’s website.
Now, the only forum scheduled for the rest of the year is on end-stage renal disease. On March 13, subscribers got an email that it, too, had been canceled, though the website notes as of Friday that it has been rescheduled for next month.
What gives?
It’s unclear why exactly these cancellations are happening. CMS did not respond to Healthcare Brew’s request for comment.
Rachel Reeves, spokesperson for the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, told Healthcare Brew that forums like these “help bring clarity on certain issues,” but the groups will still “ensur[e] providers’ voices are heard” by CMS through “various channels.”
Other spokespeople for professional organizations with members potentially impacted by these cancellations—such as the American Hospital Association and American Ambulance Association—have declined to speak with Healthcare Brew on the issue at this time.
The cancellations come during a time of change for CMS and its parent agency, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). New HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed big changes, such as rescinding the agency’s 54-year-old public comment rule.