Dive Brief:
- Congress on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require only a 90-day reporting period to attest to meaningful use in 2015. This comes shortly after the final rule was released late last month, calling for a 365-day reporting period.
- Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) introduced the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act. The bill would allow providers to attest to any three-month quarter next year. In a statement, Ellmers expressed concern that the extended reporting period would create "unbearable financial burdens" on providers.
- 17 healthcare stakeholders, including the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society sent a note on Monday to the Department of Health and Human Services cautioning that a year-long attestation could "complicate the forward trajectory" of the program.
Dive Insight:
There has been little but gloom and doom from the healthcare industry since the final ruling was released last month. Many industry insiders have forecasted that a year-long attestation would shut down the program.
But to date, healthcare providers have received nearly $25 billion from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in provider incentives. Electronic medical records are becoming an inevitable part of healthcare and if they will be used, providers might as well get reimbursed for them. It is not likely that providers will opt out of meaningful use, but regulations are going to have to keep pace with the industry, even if it is slower than they would like.
Want to read more? You may enjoy this story on the backlash the administration is receiving over the final Stage 2 reporting rule.