To help clarify last week’s changes to the EHR Incentive Program timeline, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a short guide for participants explaining changes and their effects.
Here is the complete message from CMS:
Additional Guidance: How the Proposed New Timeline for the EHR Incentive Programs Affects You
Last week, CMS and ONC announced the intent to change the Stage 3 timeline and extend Stage 2 of meaningful usethrough 2016.
Important to note about the proposed timeline
| • It does not delay the start of Stage 2 of meaningful use.
• It does not affect the current reporting periods and deadlines for 2014 participation.
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What this Means for You
If you begin participation with your first year of Stage 1 for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program in 2014:
If you begin participation with your first year of Stage 1 for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program in 2014:
• You must begin your 90 days of Stage 1 of meaningful use no later than July 1, 2014 and submit attestation by October 1, 2014 in order to avoid the 2015 payment adjustment.
If you have completed 1 year of Stage 1 of meaningful use:
• You will demonstrate a second year of Stage 1 of meaningful use in 2014 for a three-month reporting period fixed to the quarter for Medicare or any 90 days for Medicaid.• You will demonstrate Stage 2 of meaningful use for two years (2015 and 2016).• You will begin Stage 3 of meaningful use in 2017.
If you have completed two or more years of Stage 1 of meaningful use:
• You will still demonstrate Stage 2 of meaningful use in 2014 for a three-month reporting period fixed to the quarter for Medicare or any 90 days for Medicaid.• You will demonstrate Stage 2 of meaningful use for three years (2014, 2015 and 2016).• You will begin Stage 3 of meaningful use in 2017.
Please be sure to look for additional guidance in the Federal Register for rulemaking on this proposal. Source
