Originally published on 3/23/26

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced they are phasing out fax machines and snail mail for documentation related to healthcare claims. It’s a move that’s expected to save taxpayers $781.98 million and allow patients to spend more time with their physicians. Below, we share everything Medicare and Medicaid users need to know about this new rule, including when it’s going to take effect. 

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What to know about the new Medicare clinical documentation rule 

On Friday, March 20, CMS announced The Administrative Simplification; Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule, which will eliminate the use of fax machines and snail mail for healthcare professionals sending clinical documentation. 

Also under this new rule, healthcare providers, insurers and clearinghouses (organizations that collect patient information and help process claims) will be required to send medical records, X‑rays, notes, lab results and other healthcare documents electronically, instead of creating a physical copy. The digital shift is expected to streamline the process, allowing physicians to spend less time on paperwork and more time providing personalized care to patients.

“The 1980s called, and they want their fax machines back,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, said in a statement. “The futuristic medical breakthroughs we’ve achieved, like augmented reality glasses that give surgeons X-ray vision, shouldn’t have to coexist with administrative systems that often lag decades behind. This new rule will modernize American healthcare by standardizing electronic claims attachments and enabling secure electronic signatures. Because every minute providers save on paperwork is another minute they can spend caring for patients.”

On top of allowing patients to spend more time with their physicians, The Administrative Simplification; Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule is also expected to save taxpayers $781 million, since there will now be a standard exchange of clinical documentation. 

This move comes after CMS launched a variety of other technology-driven initiatives, including their highly controversial Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, which required six states to use AI to help determine whether or not patients qualify for certain outpatient procedures. 

The WISeR Model, along with other CMS technology initiatives, faced significant pushback from healthcare advocates. Experts argued that since Medicare primarily serves older adults, complex new technologies might create confusion rather than improve care. Dr. Oz refuted these claims, telling Morning in America in December 2025, “We want AI to be used by the doctor, if the doctor wants, to help them take better care of patients, to allow the AI to help with scheduling tests, to give them some better ideas about a diagnosis.” 

The Administrative Simplification; Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule shouldn’t affect seniors in that way, since it only requires healthcare professionals to use the new technology system. 

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When will the new Medicare clinical documentation rule take effect? 

The Administrative Simplification; Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule will launch on May 26, 2026, but healthcare organizations will have until May 26, 2028 to implement into their individual offices.

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/healthcare/medicare-fax-number-what-to-do-as-cms-moves-claims-records-online