New EHR Incentive Resource and other CMS Updates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the Federal agency under the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) which administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The CMS EHR Incentive programs are currently open programs for eligible professionals and hospitals to receive incentive payment for participation. Here are the latest updates from CMS.
Resources
Determine Your EHR Incentive Program Participation Timeline
CMS has posted their newest interactive web resource tool for Eligible Professionals to determine their personal timeline and participation in each of the stages for meeting Meaningful Use in the EHR Incentive Programs. Check out the My EHR Participation Timeline Tool.
Approaching Deadlines
Electronic Reporting Pilot Deadline
If you selected the electronic reporting pilot option for your submission of clinical quality measures (CQMs) for the EHR Incentive Program (for the 2012 reporting year), you must submit 12 months of CQM data using a PQRS-qualified EHR system or data submission vendor. Failure to submit your CQMs electronically by 11:59 pm ET on February 28, 2013 will result in your attestation being rejected for the 2012 program year. You can opt out of this program by returning to your EHR Incentive Program registration and change your selections to NO on CQM e-Reporting and enter your data in at attestation.
February 28 Attestation Deadline
Eligible professionals (EPs) who participated in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program in 2012 must complete attestation for the 2012 program year by February 28, 2013. Medicaid EPs should check with their State Medicaid Agency for their attestation deadlines.
Medicare Part B Claims Deadline
February 28, 2013, is also the deadline for EPs to submit any pending Medicare Part B claims from calendar year (CY) 2012, as CMS allows 60 days after December 31, 2012, for all pending claims to be processed. Medicare EHR incentive payments to EPs are based on 75% of the Part B allowed charges for covered professional services furnished by the EP during the entire payment year. If the EP did not meet the $24,000 threshold in Part B allowed charges by the end of CY 2012, CMS expects to issue an incentive payment for the EP in March 2013 for 75% of the EP’s Part B charges from 2012.
Recorded and Upcoming Events
National Provider Calls
The audio recording and written transcript from the January 16 Meaningful Use: Stage 1 and Stage 2 call are now available on the January 16 call web page in the “Call Materials” section.
CMS Listening Session on Billing and Coding with EHRs
Save the date, Friday, May 3, CMS and ONC plans a meeting of interested stakeholders, including providers, vendors, press, and others to discuss electronic health records (EHRs), the increase in code levels billed for Medicare services, and appropriate coding in an increasingly electronic environment. Speakers will discuss key issues such as the impact of EHRs on quality and coding, as well as coding challenges facing various groups, including hospitals, doctors, and other interested stakeholders. More details will be posted soon.