Obtaining evidence beyond the current "special arrangement sources." Interim final rule with request for comments

We are amending our regulations to state that we will obtain evidence from any appropriate source. Our current regulations provide that we will obtain information from "special arrangement sources'' for those infrequent situations when we are in a better position than our State agency partners to obtain evidence. Due to improved evidence collection through our increased use of health information technology (health IT), we are obtaining evidence electronically with increasing frequency. We expect that, over time, the electronic exchange of medical records will become our primary means for obtaining medical evidence. As we increase our use of health IT, the designation of "special arrangement sources'' will no longer adequately describe from whom we collect evidence.