We know you’re busy addressing the multiple challenges medical practices face — treating patients, managing medical billing, maintaining practice profitability, and more — all within the limited number of hours in your day.
If other priorities took precedence and you still have not attested for Meaningful Use, you’re not alone. We hear that a number of eligible providers did not meet the October 1, 2014 deadline for Stage 1 Meaningful Use/Year 1.
The top question doctors are asking is:
What does not attesting mean for physician practices in terms of Meaningful Use penalties and incentives?
The good news is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services just reopened the Hardship Exception option for 2014 Certification with a new deadline of November 30, 2014. This means you still may have an opportunity to avoid cuts to your 2015 Medicare payments. You can start the process online by completing the 4-page 2015 Hardship Exception Application.
‘Payment Adjustments’ Could Accumulate
If CMS does not accept your exception, at this point your practice could face financial consequences starting January 1, 2015. CMS outlines the Meaningful Use penalties (they call them ‘payment adjustments’) for Medicare eligible professionals.
If you’re a Medicare eligible provider and missed 2014 attestation for Stage 1/Year 1, CMS plans to withhold a portion of your Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS) each year. A 1% – 2% decrease in 2015 could accumulate going forward, with a CMS penalty schedule that withholds up to 5% of PFS each year starting in 2019.
Interestingly, precise percentages depend on whether or not 75% of your eligible professional peers successfully become Meaningful Users.
(If you’re a Medicaid eligible provider who can only participate in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and do not bill Medicare, you’re not subject to these payment adjustments, CMS says).
“Is Medicare/CMS going to penalize 60% of physicians is the main question,” said Mark R. Anderson, FHIMSS, CPHIMS and CEO of AC Group, Inc., a healthcare technology advisory and research firm. Approximately 267,000 physicians have successfully attested to Stage 1 so far, he explained. “This is only about 40% of physicians.”
This makes it more likely CMS will reduce Medicare payments based on their proposed payment adjustment with fewer than 75% of physicians attesting for Meaningful Use.
Outside achieving a year 1 hardship exception, “If you have not stated MU stage 1 yet, it is too late for 2014,” Mr. Anderson told CareCloud.
Easier Attesting Through Technology
Electronic health record systems certified for Meaningful Use can make attesting easier. Currently, CareCloud is one of a limited number of vendors with an EHR certified for 2014 Meaningful Use.
