Dive Brief:
- Meaningful Use incentive payments to eligible hospitals and providers have continued to rise, with CMS issuing $24.4 billion to date, up from $22.9 billion in May and $23.7 billion in June.
- The number of participating Medicare-eligible providers is climbing too, up 991 to 317,294. Also, Medicaid-eligible providers participating rose 1,249 to 157,890 and hospitals a scant 10 to 4,737.
- There seems to be trouble on the horizon, however. While incentive payouts have continued to rise, HIT Policy Committee members are concerned that just eight eligible hospitals and fewer than 1,000 EPs have attested to Stage 2 of Meaningful Use.
Dive Insight:
While keeping an eye on the pace of attestation makes sense, it's worth noting that the stats cited above might be a bit skewed, as the numbers counted only eligible hospitals and providers that had installed a 2014-certified EMR by Jan.1 of this year, done calendar-quarter reporting by April 1 and attested by June 30. And ONC staff say that a meaningful proportion of smaller practices in the Stage 1 cohort are poised to head for Stage 2.
But there's reason for concern, nonetheless. For example, the AMA warns that a significant number of physicians may drop out of the program if CMS doesn't show some flexibility—ideally, letting physicians qualify for incentive payments if they meet 75% of criteria, and avoid financial penalties if they meet 50% of Stage 2 criteria. The AHA also has some strong objections to Stage 2 as constituted, arguing that as many as 40% of hospitals might not be able to meet the requirements.