How HHS is Leveraging Technology to Lower Patient Costs and Reduce Provider Burden

Through its July 2025 HTI-4 Final Rule, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC) took another important step to advance the department’s commitment to easing burdens on providers and speeding patients’ access to care. ASTP/ONC adopted regulation standards and certification criteria for health IT that support electronic prior authorizations for both medical and pharmacy benefits, and also finalized a requirement for certain health IT developers to include real-time prescription benefit capabilities in their products, allowing providers to see the cost and coverage of a prescription as part of their prescribing workflow. HHS projects these changes will save more than $19.2 billion in administrative cost savings over the next decade, while freeing providers to spend more time caring for patients. Join ASTP/ONC to learn more about efforts to improve health care access and affordability.