In March, CMS issued a State Medicaid Directors Letter (SMDL) about the availability of enhanced federal funding for state Medicaid programs’ eligibility and enrollment (E&E) systems. This SMDL represents CMS’s most recent effort to encourage States to use commercial “off-the-shelf” technology and “software as a service,” instead of customized electronic systems developed and built specifically … Continue Reading
On February 2, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill, S. 2484 (CONNECT for Health Act), to expand the scope of Medicare reimbursements for telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) services. (An identical bill, H.R. 4442 was introduced in the House on February 3.) If enacted, the bill would waive, for certain providers, existing … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule implementing a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires a Medicaid enrollee seeking coverage for home health services to first meet face-to-face with a practitioner. The final rule confirms that the face-to-face encounter requirement “may occur through telehealth, as implemented … Continue Reading
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) finalized new rules for the Electronic Health Records (EHR) meaningful use program. In response to significant public criticism of the program, the final rulemaking offers some additional flexibility for complying with the program’s requirements.… Continue Reading
Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill that would ease federal requirements that professionals seeing patients at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) “meaningfully use” certified electronic health records (EHRs). The measure would sunset after certified EHR technology is applicable to the ASC setting.… Continue Reading
* Jack Lund is a summer associate and student at the University of Virginia School of Law The “21st Century Cures Act” (Cures) cleared its first major hurdle last month when the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously in favor of the legislation. Among other things, Cures helps to modernize Medicare by … Continue Reading
* Gabriel Kohan is a summer associate and student at Harvard Law School. States are continuing to debate the role telehealth services should play in the health care system. Thus far in 2015, several States have enacted parity laws requiring that certain telehealth services be reimbursed to the same extent as in-person services. While on … Continue Reading
Last month, Washington state enacted legislation requiring coverage of medical services delivered through telehealth technology, making it the latest State to join the growing consensus that telehealth is an important component of efficiently delivering health care.… Continue Reading
Late last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) with broad bipartisan support. MACRA would permanently repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) for Medicare physician reimbursement and extend federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for two additional years. The legislation also includes three … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the National Law Journal published its annual Special Report on Health Care Law. Included in this Special Report is an article written by CovingtonEHealth contributors Caroline Brown, Anna Kraus, and Phil Peisch, entitled, The Cyber Future of Long-Term Care: Applying Health Care Laws to Aging in Place Technologies. This article explores how … Continue Reading
On February 27, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the Electronic Health Fairness Act (HR 887), which would exempt ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) from the EHR Incentive Program.… Continue Reading
Yesterday, CMS extended the meaningful use attestation deadline for the 2014 reporting year for eligible professionals in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program from February 28 to March 20. In an email, CMS stated that it “extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data.” Medicare eligible professionals must attest to … Continue Reading
At the ONC’s HIT Committee meeting on February 10, 2015, CMS presented data about the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. The presentation included CMS’s estimate that over two hundred and fifty thousand professionals participating in Medicare will receive a downward payment adjustment for failing to meet meaningful use standards in 2015, which is the … Continue Reading
At the end of last year, the American Journal of Managed Care published a study — co-authored by researchers at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) — analyzing the use of electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. This is the first study on this subject since the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) revised … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the proposed rulemaking for Stage 3 meaningful use, which is the next stage of compliance for eligible professionals and hospitals in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. Stage 3 is scheduled to begin in 2017. The … Continue Reading
At the December 9, 2014 meeting of the ONC’s Health IT Policy Committee, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) presented data on participation and payments in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. This data highlights the size and scope of the program.… Continue Reading
On November 24, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would extend the deadline for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) to attest to meaningful use for the 2014 reporting year in the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. The deadline was extended for a month, from November 30, 2014 to … Continue Reading
As part of the October 31, 2014 final rule updating payment polices under the Medicare physician fee schedule, CMS continued its policy of allowing payment for non-face-to-face chronic care management services and also expanded the list of Medicare-covered telehealth services. However, CMS declined to provide coverage for other proposed telehealth services, and the agency noted the limits … Continue Reading
On October 7, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reopened the submission period for hardship exception applications to allow eligible professionals and hospitals to avoid 2015 meaningful use penalties. Penalties for failing to demonstrate meaningful use of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) were applied beginning October 1, 2014 for hospitals, and … Continue Reading
In September, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Congressman Jim Matheson introduced H.R. 5481 — the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act of 2014 (“Flex-IT Act”). This legislation would provide a three-month reporting period, instead of a full year reporting period, for demonstrating meaningful use in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Payment Program in 2015.… Continue Reading
On September 11, 2014, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published a final rule updating the 2014 Edition Electronic Health Records (EHR) certification criteria. The certification criteria are technical standards that EHR technology must meet in order for hospitals and health care professionals to achieve meaningful use of EHR (and … Continue Reading
Health care providers and other entities face a host of legal and practical challenges as they implement telehealth and telemedicine initiatives. For example, providers of telehealth services, and the entities creating or hosting telehealth platforms, must determine which federal and state privacy and security laws apply to them. These laws, such as the federal Health … Continue Reading
Medicare Part B pays for certain health services furnished to rural beneficiaries via an “interactive telecommunications system”—a system that provides for real-time audio and video communication. Among the covered services are office visits, certain behavioral health services, diabetes self-management training, and medical nutrition therapy. The practitioner furnishing the service remotely (the “distant site” provider) may … Continue Reading
Draft federal legislation to amend the Medicare physician payment formula also calls for nationwide interoperable EHRs by the end of 2017. … Continue Reading
