If relief is not coming to eligible professionals and hospitals as a result of a recent final rule modifying meaningful use reporting in 2014 and 2015, then a recently introduced bill might just be the key.
Yesterday, Representatives Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and James Matheson (D-UT) introduced the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2014 to Congress with the intent of satisfying widespread calls for the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address full-year reporting requirements for 2015.
“The Meaningful Use Program has many important provisions that seek to usher our health care providers into the digital age,” Rep. Ellmers said in a public statement. “But instead of working with doctors and hospitals, HHS is imposing rigid mandates that will cause unbearable financial burdens on the men and women who provide care to millions of Americans. Dealing with these inflexible mandates is causing doctors, nurses, and their staff to focus more on avoiding financial penalties and less on their patients.”
The purpose of the Flex-IT Act (HR 5481) is to “continue the use of a 3-month quarter EHR reporting period for health care providers to demonstrate meaningful use for 2015 under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payment programs, and for other purposes,” a draft of the bill reads.
What these others purposes are remains unclear, but the proposed legislation does specify that neither the payment year nor the stage of meaningful use should have an impact on the 90-day reporting period in 2015 — that is, “without regard.”
“The Flex-IT Act will provide the flexibility providers need while ensuring that the goal of upgrading their technologies is still being managed. I’m excited to introduce this important bill and look forward to it quickly moving on to a vote,” added Rep. Ellmers.
The proposal comes as a positive sign to group of provider associations calling on HHS and CMS to take immediate action in addressing full-year reporting requirements for 2015 meaningful use. The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, which spearheaded the group, was quick to throw its support behind the bill:
CHIME commends Congresswoman Ellmers and Congressman Matheson for their immense leadership on this critically important issue following the industry’s joint call to action earlier today. The Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act would negate the latest final rule and adjust the program reporting timeline; giving providers the option to choose any three-month quarter for EHR reporting in 2015.The misstep by officials to require a full-year of reporting using 2014 Editioncertified EHR Technology (CEHRT) in 2015 puts many eligible hospitals and physicians at risk of not meeting Meaningful Use next year and hinders the intended impact of the program. To date; only 143 hospitals have met Stage 2 to date, representing a very small percentage of the 3,800 hospitals required to be Stage 2-ready within the next 14 days.
As with the change to the ICD-10 deadline, legislative action represents the sole recourse for overruling components of a final rule. With only two weeks remaining until the start of fiscal year 2015, time is running out for eligible hospitals which report for meaningful use based on the federal calendar.
Date: September 17, 2014