CMS Issues the Final rule of CY 2017 OPPS and ASC

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the recently updated payment rates and policy modifications in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System for calendar year (CY) 2017 on the day of November 1. This ultimate final rule with comment time period involves a number of proposed modifications that would impact the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. On November 14, this final rule will be published and the comments will be accepted until the day of December 31.

The number of changes and modifications implemented to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are as follow:

• Giving permission to entire returning participants in the EHR Incentive Programs to report on a ninety-day EHR reporting period in the year of 2016 and 2017.
• For CAHs, eligible hospitals and dual-eligible hospitals attesting to CMS, eradicating the Clinical Decision Support (CDS) and Computerized Order Entry (CPOE) aims and measures starting in the year of 2017, decreasing a subset of thresholds for the left over aims and measures for Modified Stage 2 in 2017 and Stage 3 in the years of 2017 and 2018, and further adding new naming conventions to measures for Modified Stage 2 and Stage 3.

An application procedure is required for a 1-time significant hardship exception to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for few EPs (eligible professionals) in the year of 2017 who are also transitioning to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).