E-prescribing rule released! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday released its final rule on changes to the federal electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) incentive program. The final rule establishes the requirements for successful reporting of the e-prescribing measure, while also finalizing additional hardship exemptions for avoiding the 2012 e-prescribing penalty that begins on Jan. 1, 2012.
Your ACC, along with the AMA and others, have had significant concerns regarding the implementation of the 2012 penalty and have urged CMS to reconsider the details and timing and to thoroughly consider the effects of this position on specialists such as cardiologists. The final rule, while not extending the reporting time, does address many of these concerns and make it easier for more physicians to be eligible for hardship exemptions.
Under the rule, final hardship exemption categories for eligible physicians are as follows:
- Practitioners who have registered to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and have adopted certified EHR technology.
- Practitioners who are unable to e-prescribe due to local, state or federal law or regulation. (This proposed exemption is designed to address practitioners who primarily prescribe controlled substances.)
- Practitioners who infrequently prescribe. (For 2012, this means a practitioner must not have had the opportunity to e-prescribe at least 10 times between January and the end of June 2011.) Practitioners who provide services that not are included in the e-prescribing measures (e.g. does not provide office visits).
- Practitioners with practices located in a rural area without high-speed Internet access.
- Practitioners with a practice located in an area without sufficient available pharmacies for e-prescribing. (This includes natural disaster-caused disruptions).
Physicians will need to request hardship exemptions by Nov. 1. Your ACC is encouraging eligible professionals to apply for exemptions as soon as the CMS web-based portal is available. The College will provide more information on this timing as soon as CMS releases the dates. Meanwhile, it is important to note that these exemptions are very limited and the majority of cardiologists who did not report e-prescribing activity during the first half of 2011 will receive reduced payments in 2012. Read more about the e-prescribing penalty.
Comments are in! Also this week, your ACC submitted formal comments to CMS on the proposed 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and the proposed 2012 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment rule. The final rules for both of these are expected in late October.
ACC's Legislative Conference takes place in two weeks! Conference registrants should expect to receive briefing materials and other important information in the coming days. If you can't make it to Washington, DC, this year, highlights from the conference, as well as ways you can take action from afar, will be posted on the Legislative Conference website starting Sept. 12.
Questions/Comments contact
advocate@acc.org
.