Retrospective Review of Existing Rules

< Back to HHS.gov/open

The Department of Health and Human Services has made significant progress in its retrospective review activities since President Obama’s January 2011 Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.  In Executive Order 13563, the President recognized the importance of a streamlined, effective, efficient regulatory framework to achieve economic growth, increased investment, job creation, and competition.  HHS is committed to identifying and reviewing existing regulations in order to eliminate those that are obsolete, unnecessary, burdensome, or counterproductive or to modify others to increase their effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility. 

Executive Order 13563 calls not for a single exercise, but for “periodic review of existing significant regulations,” with close reference to empirical evidence.  It explicitly states that “retrospective analyses, including supporting data, should be released online wherever possible.”  Consistent with the commitment to periodic review and to public participation, HHS continues to assess its existing significant regulations.  Since the President’s Executive Order on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, HHS has made significant progress in its retrospective review activities.

Learn more about our progress:

Back to top.

Content created by Immediate Office of the Secretary (IOS)
Content last reviewed