Colorado Medical Society

http://dev.cms.org/articles/feds-announce-new-ehr-attestation-deadline-march-20-2015/

Feds announce new EHR attestation deadline: March 20, 2015

Thursday, February 26, 2015 09:12 AM

Medicare-eligible professionals now have until 9:59 pm MT (11:59 pm ET) on March 20, 2015, to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data. In a Feb. 25 news bulletin, the federal CMS urged providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon as they can.

This extension also allows eligible professionals who have not already used their one “switch” to switch programs (from Medicare to Medicaid, or vice versa) for the 2014 payment year. After that time, eligible professionals will no longer be able to switch programs.

Medicare eligible professionals must attest to meaningful use every year to receive an incentive and avoid a payment adjustment. Providers who successfully attest for the 2014 program year will receive an incentive payment and avoid the Medicare payment adjustment, which will be applied Jan. 1, 2016.

Note: The Medicare extension does not affect deadlines for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Additionally, the EHR reporting option for PQRS has been extended until March 20, 2015. The federal CMS will send more information regarding the PQRS program extension.

How to Attest

Submit your data to the Registration and Attestation System, which includes 2014 Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) Flexibility Rule options.

To learn more, see the Educational Resources on the federal CMS EHR Incentive Programs website. For help, call the EHR Information Center at 1-888-734-6433.