[co-author: Chelsea Sousa - Legal Intern]*

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the eligible hospital and critical access hospital (CAH) attestation deadline from February 28, 2018 to March 16, 2018. The extension provides additional time to submit attestation data and electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data. Eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals attesting to the CMS Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program are required to submit data through the QualityNet Secure Portal (QNet). “Subsection (d) hospitals” that are paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), CAHs, and Medicare Advantage hospitals are eligible to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. Acute care hospitals (including CAHs and cancer hospitals) with at least a 10% Medicaid patient volume and children’s hospitals  are eligible to participate in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Eligible hospitals and CAHs that are eligible to participate in both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs may be subject to the Medicare payment reduction for failing to demonstrate meaningful use, and may be able to earn an incentive payment for demonstrating meaningful use successfully.

*This post was co-authored by Chelsea Sousa, legal intern at Robinson+Cole. Chelsea is not yet admitted to practice law.

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