Check this page often for news about important program updates, training opportunities, and educational information.
Announcements
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| January 16, 2023 |
New Second Level Hearing Appeals Portal Begins Today! Starting today, January 16, 2023, Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Plan Sponsors will now utilize the new CMS Office of Hearings Case and Document Management System (OH CDMS) for their Second Level Appeals. The OH CDMS is a web-based portal for RDS Plan Sponsors to submit and maintain their Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals and to correspond with the CMS Hearing Officer. This information is only relevant to Plan Sponsors who pursue an RDS Second Level Appeal. In support of this change, CMS’ RDS Center has published updated educational materials as well. Because the OH CDMS portal falls entirely outside of the RDS Program’s purview, CMS’ RDS Center will not provide technical support for this web application. |
| January 9, 2023 |
Coming Next Week – OH CDMS Portal For Second Level Appeals On January 16, 2023, the new CMS Office of Hearings Case and Document Management System (OH CDMS) will become available for RDS Plan Sponsors pursuing RDS Second Level Appeals. The OH CDMS is a web-based portal for RDS Plan Sponsors to submit and manage their Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals and to correspond with the CMS Hearing Officer. This information is only relevant to Plan Sponsors who pursue an RDS Second Level Appeal. This Second Level Appeal process change will not be relevant to First Level Reconsiderations or to Third Level Administrator Reviews. |
| November 17, 2022 |
11/19/22 – 11/20/22 System Maintenance Notification CMS' RDS Center will be performing system maintenance on the RDS Secure Website on Saturday, November 19, 2022 beginning at 8:00PM ET and concluding Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 10:00AM ET. The Secure Website will be available but file processing will be impacted. |
| November 1, 2022 |
Coming Soon – Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals Portal In the coming months, CMS will introduce RDS Plan Sponsors to the new CMS Office of Hearings Case and Document Management System (OH CDMS). The OH CDMS is a web-based portal for RDS Plan Sponsors to submit and manage their Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals and to correspond with the CMS Hearing Officer. The RDS Secure Website (SWS) and the OH CDMS portal are separate web applications requiring separate and unique registrations and account management. This change will only be relevant to Plan Sponsors who pursue an RDS Second Level Appeal. |
| September 7, 2022 |
Update on CMS Agency E-Mail Outage On Wednesday, August 31, 2022, CMS’ RDS Center posted an Announcement regarding an agency wide e-mail outage over the Labor Day holiday. Please be advised that the RDS Center is unable to receive inbound inquiries from end users using the rds@cms.hhs.gov e-mail address or Support Requests submitted through the RDS Secure Website at this time due to a technical issue. Outbound e-mails from the RDS Center are unaffected by this technical issue. CMS’ RDS Center is working diligently to resolve the technical issue with an estimated restoration of service by noon today, September 7, 2022. |
| September 1, 2022 |
Coming Soon – Changes to Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals Process The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will soon implement changes to the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Second Level Informal Hearing Appeals process. |
| August 31, 2022 |
CRITICAL: CMS Agency E-Mail Outage CMS will be undertaking an agency e-mail transition over Labor Day weekend. As a result, RDS e-mail services will be unavailable from 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 2, 2022 until 6:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Do not send e-mails or Support Requests to CMS’ RDS Center during this time, as they will not be delivered. Do not register for a user account during this window. Do not perform any User Management functions during this window (e.g., Password resets, role assignments, etc.). |
| August 25, 2022 |
Retiree Drug Subsidy Program Attestation of Actuarial Equivalence and the H.R.5376 Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 In order to meet program requirements, RDS Plan Sponsors and RDS Actuaries will need to review the H.R.5376 Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and 42 C.F.R. §423.884(d), and attest actuarial equivalence for their retirees. These revisions are applicable for Plan Years starting January 1, 2023 and thereafter. |
| August 17, 2022 |
New Reconciliation Reset Function for the RDS Secure Website Our latest enhancement is a new, automated Reconciliation Reset function in the Secure Website. Previously, Plan Sponsors in this scenario emailed a support request to CMS’ RDS Center to request that Reconciliation steps be reset so that new retiree data could be submitted. In the new, modernized Secure Website the Account Managers and Authorized Representative will be able to perform Reconciliation Resets themselves on the Finalize Covered Retirees page with just a few clicks. |
| July 12, 2022 |
New RDS Quick Start Guide on the RDS Public Website! CMS’ RDS Center is excited to announce the publication of a new RDS Secure Website Login Quick Start Guide illustrating how to log into the RDS Secure Website, and documenting best practices for maintaining an active RDS user account. |
Page last updated: April 01, 2016