AHA Emphasizes Congress to Approve the law of Meaningful Use Flexibility

Greater meaningful use flexibility would be permitted by this law, involving a ninety-day reporting time period, more lenient hardship exceptions, and a 70% requirement threshold.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is highlighting its weight behind the Electronic Health Record Regulatory Relief Act, which would mitigate reporting needs and permit greater flexibility for eligible clinicians and hospitals in meaningful use.

In accordance to the AHA’s Executive Vice President Thomas P. Nickel, the bill would assist the eligible professionals to victoriously meet meaningful use requirements.

The bill which was launched in July 2016 identifies eligible providers as meaningful users if they meet 70% of the program’s requirements. According to the Nickel, this will help providers who make honest attempts in meaningful use attestation but generally can’t fulfill all of the measures.

A 90-day reporting period is also permitted by this bill in the year of 2016 and beyond and allows more flexibility in implementing for hardship exceptions.

In 2018, the 90-day reporting time period is particularly crucial because that is the scheduled initiating year for Stage 3 Meaningful Use reporting, Nickels elaborated.

AHA applauded that MACRA is intended to foster higher flexibility and decrease reporting burden for eligible experts when it begin in the year of January, 2017. Although, in accordance to the organization, there should be greater alignment among eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals going forward.

A cohort of GOP legislators – involving John Thune (R-SD), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) – launched the Electronic Health Record Regulatory Relief Act in the month of July of 2016.

The bill targeted to make into law proposals CMS had initially made in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System. CMS claimed intentions to decrease the meaningful use reporting period from a complete or full year to 90 days in the OPPS final rule.

The bill will also serve providers who’ve expressed complications in fully meeting the requirements of meaningful use despite full efforts, says Alexander, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).

Congress should think about enacting the Electronic Health Records Regulatory Relief Act during its year-end activities, according to AHA.