(Editor’s Note 11/14/2015: If you have arrived here, check our post on the final update of these rules at CMS Unveils Long Awaited Meaningful Use Rule Changes for 2015.)
On April 15, 2015, CMS published a proposed new rule simplifying the Meaningful Use rules. Overall, this proposed new rule provides relief for physicians who are weary of the increasingly complex program rules. While the final rule is not published, if adopted this new rule:
- Changes the 2015 reporting period to any 90 day period for 2015. For 2016 -2017, a full year reporting is required
- Restructures Stage 2 from 17 core objectives (including public health) plus 3 of 6 menu objectives to a more streamlined 9 core objectives and 1 public health objective.
- Eliminates 10 measures
- Simplifies 8 measures, including the challenging patient electronic access, secure messaging and summary of care measures
- Establishes a single set of measures, the Modified Stage 2 rules, for all providers for the time period 2015-2017, with accommodations during 2015 for providers who had planned to attest to Stage 1
- Sunsets the “Flexibility Rule” requiring that all providers use EHR Technology certified to meet the 2014 Standards
This proposed rule is a welcome change for providers, many of whom have considered dropping out of the Meaningful Use program.
While it is not possible to guarantee that these proposed changes will be finalized, our assessment is that the likelihood is high that final rules will be adopted that closely match this proposal. Consequently, we recommend that if you are participating in the program that you concentrate your efforts towards achieving the measures listed in the proposed rule.
More details will follow in future posts.
Editor’s Note: Subsequent to the publication of this article, CMS has renamed the “Meaningful Use” programs and MIPS “Advancing Care Information” category to “Promoting Interoperability”.
