CMS announced on Friday, February 7, 2014, that the agency is extending the deadline for eligible professionals (EPs) to attest as meaningful users of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology for the 2013 Medicare EHR Incentive Program reporting year. The new deadline for EPs to submit their 2013 attestations is 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2014. (The prior deadline was February 28, 2014.) This extension applies only to the submission of Meaningful Use data. EPs still must have satisfied the Meaningful Use criteria by the original deadline of December 31, 2013. Successfully attesting to Meaningful Use for the 2013 reporting period will exempt an EP from the downward payment adjustment beginning in 2015 for those EPs who are not Meaningful Users.
In addition, CMS states that hospitals that “may have experienced difficulty attesting” by their November 30, 2013 deadline can contact CMS to request another opportunity to submit their Meaningful Use data retroactively. Retroactive submission would enable providers to receive incentive payments and avoid the 2015 downward adjustment. CMS has described this option as a “one-time opportunity” and eligible hospitals interested in pursuing it must contact CMS by 11:59 p.m. on March 15, 2014 at EH2013Extension@Provider-Resources.com.
This extension does not affect submission deadlines under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program or the Physician Quality Reporting System program.
Reporter, Christopher Kenny, Washington, D.C., + 1 202 626 9253, ckenny@kslaw.com.
