Senators launch bill to provide EHR program relief

Legislation launched by 6 Senators aims to provide regulatory relief and flexibility for hospitals that are attempting to meet obligations of the federal meaningful use program.

The senators late Wednesday revealed the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Regulatory Relief Act (S. 3173), showing that they gave the bill to bring few of the relief declared for physicians to the hospital sector.

The 6 Republican senators belong to a group that released a report 3 years ago recommending changes required in federal policy strategies to victoriously adopt healthcare information technology, and are called as REBOOT members.

Sponsors of the legislation involve Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Pat Roberts (R-KN) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).

The authors of the bill claim that regulatory flexibility is required to assist hospitals and medical providers concentrate on transitioning into the patient-focused payment policies made by Congress in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

Those launching the bill recommended that they’ve got cooperation from the administration in crafting the bill, which targets to address near-term relief for hospitals dealing with the program.

 “I am thankful for the administration’s willingness to give constructive feedback and involve with Senate REBOOT members on this significant piece of legislation,” states Thune.

In the month of April, the senators wrote Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt to request input on a draft bill, and with the feedback they got, established the version that was launched yesterday.

The legislation “will offer hospitals the similar flexibility that Congress passed for doctors with overwhelming bipartisan support last April, and it’ll give doctors and hospitals the certainty of law that the ninety day reporting window for meaningful use earlier this month is here to stay,” claims Alexander, who is chair of the Senate health committee.

The proposed legislation would:

• Codify the proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to set a ninety day reporting period for the year of 2016.


• Offer flexibility in the hardship exemption that gives relief to contributors for the years of 2016 and 2017.


• Eliminate the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use, in which missing attainment of 1 objective results in failure to acquire incentive funding from the program.

 “One-size-fits-all regulation is jeopardizing the complete potential for electronic health records (EHRs) to improve care for North Carolinians,” Burr states. “I am happy to be working with my co-workers to advance common-sense policy that will offer flexibility and better support North Carolina’s hospitals and doctors in what is most significant—giving quality care to North Carolinians.”

“As a doctor, I know firsthand how bureaucratic obstacles can interrupt with patient care,” Cassidy further adds. “This legislation will decrease those regulatory burdens on contributors, permitting them to better serve sufferers.”

 

CMS grants $100M to assist docs to adopt payment system

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hopes to spend $100 million over 5 years to give Medicare clinicians customized direct assistance, like training and education to acquire success under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System.

The funding is needed as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, or MACRA.

These funds will target minor practices of 15 or fewer clinicians, predominantly in rural places, health professional shortage places and medically underserved regions, with the aim of easing the transformation from fee-for-service to value and outcomes-based reimbursement.

“Doctors and healthcare contributors in small and rural practices are critical to our aim of building a health care system that works for everyone,” stated Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Supporting local healthcare contributors with the resources and data essential for them to offer quality care is a top priority for this administration.”

CMS is finding partners to give the services to physicians, like quality improvement agencies, regional extension centers and other regional health collaborative agencies. Under CMS’ plan, there’ll be no cost to physicians for the services.

Participating agency would assist physicians to work through what they require to be successful, like which quality measures or EHR system would be most suitable for their practices. Clinicians also would get clinical practice improvement training, which would involve assessing new workflows and whether they should join an alternative payment model.

“Giving these tools to assist physicians and other clinicians in small practices navigate new programs is key to making certain they are capable to concentrate on what is most significant: the requirements of their patients,” stated B. Vindell Washington, MD, principal deputy national coordinator. “As with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s funding for Regional Extension Centers, this assistance will help healthcare contributors leverage health information technology to modify their practices and the care they deliver.”

 

Latest reimbursement policy may eradicate need for Stage 3

Physicians and other eligible experts under the electronic health records (EHRs) meaningful use program were tasked to make important investments in EHRs; in huge part, they did under Stage 1. Stage 2 enforced tougher steps in EHR capabilities that much of the industry wasn’t ready for, and various contributors dropped out of the program.

Now, changes to Stage 2 muddy water waters; in part, they would ease reporting needs for eligible experts but also enforce various confusing new needs in a proposed rule released in the month of April and authorized by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of the year 2015, called as MACRA.

Stage 2 EHRs already have functions essential under MACRA to support accountable care and population health management. And Stage 2 as originally enforced already is hard to successfully complete.

Now comes Stage 3, which is voluntary for eligible experts beginning in the year 2017 but mandatory for the year 2018. Although, if the overall objective of Stage 2 was to assist contributors get better at accountable care and population health management, is Stage 3 overkill or does it have actual value?

Robert Tennant, director of health information policy at the Medical Group Management Association, considers Stage 3 is a non-issue.

That is because the latest Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) authorized under MACRA incorporates a number of Stage 3 needs to measure physician performance within the modified Stage 2 rule that has been proposed. Performance measures involve electronic prescriptions, enabling sufferers to view/download/transmit their electronic healthcare information, and secure messaging.

The big uncertainty for MGMA is whether there will be enough period for EPs and their vendors to prepare for changes to Stage 2 next January and the start of Stage 3 in the month of January or in the year of 2018. Normal processes for huge rules would have the final rule coming out in the month of November or December and MGMA members fear they may only have 1 or 2 months to comply with final rule needs, which Tennant contends is an impossible task.

Stage 3 offers an indication of where future payments and quality measures will go, so use it to be ready, he counsels. “Look 3 years in advance now to see where you’ll be.”

How MACRA, MIPS will Assist to Deliver Patient-Centered Care

CMS recently issued the MACRA proposed rule, which involves MIPS guidelines that will particularly promote patient-centered care and patient connectivity.

CMS has declared its proposed rule for implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which centrally concentrate on delivering patient-centered care.

The proposed rule targets patient-centered care by adding provisions for how contributors use their health technology to cater to patient requirements and facilitate patient engagement.

Particularly, the proposed rule concentrates on promoting connectivity between patients and providers through the use of health technology.