Officials Say HTI-5 Proposal Reduces Complexity for Health IT Developers

The Electronic Health Record Association (EHRA) is offering early feedback on the latest federal health IT deregulation proposal, saying the Department of Health and Human Services’ HTI-5 proposed rule could ease compliance burdens for developers and providers. 

The association applauded the agency’s recent deregulatory action, calling it “a great start.” EHRA responded to several of the Trump administration’s requests for information asking for deregulatory ideas, Chairperson Leigh Burchell told GovCIO Media & Research. 

“We’re very pleased to see that many suggestions we submitted have been included in ASTP/ONC’s proposed rule, as we believe they’ll help reduce regulatory confusion, complexity and burden on both health IT developers and the providers using our software,” she said.  

Late last month, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) proposed the fifth iteration of its Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability rules.

The new rule would reduce the “burden” on health IT developers by streamlining certification requirements and removing redundancies, according to ASTP/ONC. It would also enable better electronic health information access by updating what the agency calls “information-blocking regulations” and promote AI-enabled interoperability. 

“The HTI-5 proposed rule delivers on President Trump’s directive to reduce regulatory burden and to enable American innovation through artificial intelligence,” said Tom Keane, assistant secretary for technology policy, in a statement. “These proposals reflect a commonsense approach that removes redundant requirements on health IT developers, that better ensures seamless patient access to their information and that sets a foundation for AI-based data exchange.” 

The proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Dec. 29, 2025, and will be available for public comment through Feb. 27, 2025. It is expected to save $1.53 billion in total, including $650 million over the next five years for health IT developers, providers and other stakeholders, according to ASTP/ONC. 

The agency’s Health Data, Technology and Interoperability rules are the result of President Donald Trump’s goals outlined in the Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation executive order issued shortly after he took office. In the order, he calls on federal agencies to “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens” in order to promote innovation and global competition. Burchell said HHS is headed in the right direction, but there is still work to be done.  

“We believe opportunity still exists to remove additional outdated requirements and those that add administrative burden to our member companies without commensurate value to the market,” she said. “Given that we know that ASTP/ONC plans to release another rule this year with new certification criteria and possibly a totally reframed approach, it’s too early to say how much the requirements for health IT software developers will actually be lessened, but this is a great start.”