Medicare

Medicare

On Friday, CMS said that health care providers seeking Medicare incentive payments for the meaningful use of electronic health records can attest to meeting criteria starting April 18, Healthcare IT News reports.
Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHRs can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Attestation Details
Health care providers seeking incentive payments must use CMS' online Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs Registration and Attestation System (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 3/28).
The agency has released a selection of screenshots of the system to help health care providers understand what the attestation process involves.
To qualify for Medicare incentive payments, physicians and eligible professionals must report on:

• 15 core measures;
• Five of 10 menu measures; and
• Six clinical quality measures (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 3/28).

Meanwhile, eligible hospitals and critical access facilities must report on:

• 14 core measures;
• Five of 10 menu measures; and
• 15 clinical quality measures.

Health care providers must attest to meeting meaningful use criteria for 90 consecutive days.
The last day for health care providers to start their 90-day reporting period for 2011 is:

• July 3 for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals; and
• Oct. 1 for eligible professionals (Health Data Management, 3/25).

CMS Has Paid $37M in Incentives
In related news, CMS has paid out approximately $37.6 million in meaningful use incentive payments so far, according to a Twitter post on March 25.
More than 25,000 health care providers have registered for the incentive program (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 3/25).
Sources: http://www.ihealthbeat.org

Medicare