Medicare providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of electronic health records could receive incentive payments beginning in May 2011, according to Karen Trudel, deputy director of the Office of E-Health Standards and Services at CMS, Modern Healthcare reports.
Trudel spoke at a meeting of the Health IT Standards Committee.
Trudel said Medicare and Medicaid providers will be able to register on the same electronic tracking system to help states coordinate Medicaid subsidy programs with CMS' Medicare program. According to Trudel, the system will track the "attestations" of health care providers who have met meaningful use requirements, as well as the agency's payments to those providers (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 7/28).
Guidelines for Health Care Providers
To receive subsidies, health care providers must meet meaningful use standards for a period of 90 consecutive days (Stevens, CMIO, 7/29).
Trudel said CMS will not open registration for incentive payments from office-based physicians or hospitals until Jan. 1, 2011, although the "payment year" for hospitals begins on Oct. 1. Physicians' payment year begins on Jan. 1, 2011.
According to Trudel, health care providers who meet the 90-day requirement and attest to meeting the meaningful use rule will be eligible to receive payments in May 2011.
Concerns From Committee Members
Some members of the Health IT Standards Committee raised concerns about details of CMS' proposal.
John Halamka, co-chair of the committee, asked whether payments to physicians would be considered taxable income, but Trudel said that question was not under her jurisdiction.
Committee member Judith Faulkner said that because HHS has yet to designate any group as an official testing or certification body, hospitals might face challenges to demonstrate meaningful use throughout the 90-day window. Trudel said that hospitals would have to demonstrate meaningful use and have a certified EHR system only at the end of that period.
Certification Bodies, Available Products
Doug Fridsma, acting director of HHS' Office of Standards and Interoperability, said that it remains unclear whether the agency will make the Jan. 1, 2011, deadline to have in place certification and testing organizations for EHRs, as well as certified products available (Modern Healthcare, 7/28).