Providers trying to keep up with the various twists and turns in the federal meaningful use program are certainly warranted their frustrations, Athenahelath senior VP and general counsel Dan Haley let rip in a recent blog post.
After CMS published the modified MU Stage 2 rule in October 2015, the federal program came under fire by many notable care providers and IT vendors alike who criticized its lack of flexibility and unrealistic standards. Now that Congress has approved blanket hardship exemptions for providers unable to meet MU requirements, Athenahealth honcho voiced grievances with the program heading into 2016.
"At the risk of stating the obvious, when every program participant is potentially exempt from the application of what was heretofore deemed a key component of said program, there really isn't a program any more," wrote Mr. Haley.
The healthcare executive continued, "The requirements from which a temporary reprieve is given today could easily be used in related, non-exempt contexts, such as: performance measurements under Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act, CMS' physician compare rating website; and-on."
The Athenahealth SVP's dissatisfied blog post is the latest in a string of appeals made by healthcare professionals for an overhaul to the MU program before stage three implementation in 2017.