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Begins January 31st 2011
By Garfunkel Wild, P.C
Registration for the Medicare EHR incentive program began on January 3, 2011. Eligible hospitals and professionals (collectively referred to as “Eligible Providers”) interested in receiving EHR incentive payments must register.
The HITECT Act
As a reminder, under the HITECH Act, Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments will be available to eligible professionals and hospitals when they adopt certified EHR technology and successfully demonstrate “meaningful use” of the technology.
Hospitals that are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs can receive payments from both Medicare and Medicaid; however, individual professionals cannot participate in both programs. Eligible Providers seeking to participate in the Medicaid programs must initiate registration at CMS’ registration site but must complete the process through an eligibility verification site maintained by their state Medicaid agency. At this time New York has not yet started the registration process.
The CMS Schedule
CMS announced the following key dates for the Medicare incentive programs’ first year:
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| January 3, 2011: | Registration for the Medicare EHR incentive program begins. |
| April 2011: | Attestation for the Medicare EHR incentive program begins. |
| May 2011: | Issuing of Medicare EHR incentive payments expected to begin. |
| July 3, 2011: | Last day for eligible hospitals to begin their 90-day reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use for the Medicare EHR incentive program for federal FY 2011. |
| September 30, 2011: | Federal FY 2011 payment year ends at midnight for eligible hospitals and CAHs. |
| October 3, 2011: | Last day for eligible professionals to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year 2011 to demonstrate meaningful use for the Medicare EHR incentive program. |
| November 30, 2011: | Last day for eligible hospitals and CAHs to register and attest to receive an incentive payment for federal fiscal year 2011. |
| December 31, 2011: | Calendar 2011 payment year ends for eligible professionals. |
Assessment
Interested providers may familiarize themselves with the incentive programs’ requirements by visiting CMS’ Official Web Site for more on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive program. The site provides general and detailed information on the programs, including tabs on the path to payment, eligibility, meaningful use, certified EHR technology, and frequently asked questions.
Conclusion
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Filed under: Alerts Sign-Up, Breaking News, Information Technology, Practice Management | Tagged: CMS, EHR incentive program, EHRs, EMRs, meaningful use |
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Almost $4.5 Billion in EHR Payments – CMS
Nearly $4.5 billion in federal incentives to implement electronic health-record systems has been paid out thus far, with program enrollments and payments still increasing in the first quarter of 2012, according to an analysis of the CMS’ latest data.
There are now more than a quarter of a million (225,765) actively enrolled participants in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to the CMS. Hospitals can receive payments under both the Medicare and the Medicaid programs, and most do, but physicians and other professionals can participate only in one program or the other.
Source: Joseph Conn, Modern Healthcare [4/20/12]
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EHR Payment Goal Surpassed: HHS
More than 112,400 hospitals, physicians, and other eligible providers have received more than $5.7 billion for adopting electronic health-record systems, according to an announcement from HHS. The Medicare EHR incentive payment program, which requires providers to attest that they have met federal criteria for meaningfully using certified EHR systems, has paid out more than $3.7 billion through May of this year, according to the government.
The various state Medicaid EHR programs, under which providers are required to adopt, implement, or upgrade to a certified system in their first year of eligibility, have paid out more than $2.6 billion. So far, Medicaid programs in 44 states are enrolling and paying providers for EHR use. Both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payment programs were created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Source: Joseph Conn, Modern Healthcare [6/19/12]
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CMS extending application deadline for Medicare EHR Incentive Program hardship exception
On Friday, February 25, 2016, CMS announced that it is extending the application deadline for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program hardship exception process that reduces burden on clinicians, hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The new deadline for Eligible Professionals, Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals is July 1, 2016. CMS is extending the deadline so providers have sufficient time to submit their applications to avoid adjustments to their Medicare payments in 2017.
In January, CMS posted new, streamlined hardship exception application forms that reduce the amount of information that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and CAHs must submit to apply for an exception.
The new applications and instructions for providers seeking a hardship exception are available here:
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/paymentadj_hardship.html
Ann Miller RN MHA
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Refunding the government’s EHR incentives
“The government may want a refund for its $30 billion investment in electronic medical records.”
By Dan Gorenstein
[Marketplace, April 14, 2016]
http://www.marketplace.org/2016/04/14/health-care/government-may-want-back-its-30-billion-investment-electronic-medical-records
“A new report from the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association finds nearly half of patient face-to-face contact with health care providers — checkups, emergency room stays, even hospital admissions — were missing from their electronic records. This paper appears to be the first to quantify the problem.”
D. K. Pruitt DDS
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