CMS signs up Epic, Oracle and 27 others to speed electronic prior authorization
On May 13, 2026, CMS named 29 early adopters for its Electronic Prior Authorization Acceleration initiative, part of its Health Tech Ecosystem effort. They include health systems such as Cleveland Clinic, Providence, Ochsner Health, Sanford Health and Bon Secours Mercy Health; EHR vendors Epic, Oracle, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, MEDITECH, ModMed and TruBridge; and networks including CommonWell and eHealth Exchange. Participants committed to building electronic prior authorization into clinical and billing systems, replacing fax and portal workflows, and showing clinicians where a request stands. The work is meant to get ready for January 1, 2027, when certain payers must support electronic prior authorization for medical items and services.
Why it's notable: Payers have to support electronic prior authorization by 2027, but clinics only benefit if their EHRs and health systems are wired in too. This puts the major EHR vendors on record committing to that work.