Health IT, Policy

Congress takes another crack at easing Meaningful Use

Wednesday, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators introduced a succinct bill that would shorten the Meaningful Use reporting period to 90 days for 2016 only, rather than the full year.

Capitol Building

With the Department of Health and Human Services already looking past Meaningful Use, Congress is training its sights on the short-term realities of the increasingly loathed electronic health records incentive program.

Wednesday, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators introduced a succinct bill that would shorten the Meaningful Use reporting period to 90 days for 2016 only, rather than the full year. Providers would be able to choose any quarter they like this year, according to the two-paragraph Flexibility in Electronic Health Record Reporting Act (H.R. 5001).

The legislators, led by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-North Carolina) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), called the bill “an important first step in addressing the many challenges faced by doctors, hospitals and other medical providers due to the stringent mandates” of Meaningful Use.

Co-sponsors include Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Sen. Tom Price (R-Georgia), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-California). Price is a physician and Ellmers is a nurse.

Ellmers has led similar efforts in the past. Her 2015 legislation with the same name but a broader scope remains buried in committee. Another stalled bill that she co-sponsored would have barred CMS from writing the Stage 3 regulations until 2017, but that became moot when the final rules came out in October.

At least one health IT industry group cheered the news. “The Flexibility in EHR Reporting Act of 2016 represents a sensible approach to modifying the Meaningful Use program by granting healthcare providers much-needed flexibility without compromising the goal of further digitizing healthcare,” said Russell Branzell, president and CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

“There’s growing acknowledgement across the industry that a 90-day reporting period for Meaningful Use, rather than the current 365-day construct, is a more reasoned approach to public policy,” Branzell added.

Photo: Flickr user ttarasiuk

 

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