Because an issue with the CMS website may prevent some eligible professionals who are attesting to meaningful use for the first time from meeting the deadline, the Medical Group Management Association and two Congressmen are lobbying CMS to extend the deadline so these providers do not face fines in 2015.
The affected providers are first-time attesters who received EHR incentive payments from Medicaid last year and who are taking advantage of a recently finalized HHS final rule that allows providers affected by vendor delays to use 2011 CEHRT to attest to stage 1 this year.
However, delays in CMS website updates means the site will not be ready to register these providers until mid-October, after the Oct. 1 deadline. This means even if these providers are in compliance, they may still be hit with a 1 percent reimbursement deduction in 2015 for missing the registration deadline.
In a letter to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, RN, Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) requested the deadline be extended for these providers. "We are concerned these providers will receive fines, even though they are acting in good faith to meet CMS deadlines," according to the letter. "Providers nationwide who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars toward EHR software and hardware to comply with CMS' EHR program will now face the addition and unexpected burden of unreasonable cuts to their reimbursements — simply because of a delay in CMS system updates."
The Medical Group Management Association has also written Administrator Tavenner, asking for a delay of at least 30 days from when the website is updated to give providers time to register for attestation.
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