CMS gives physicians more time to attest to 2015 meaningful use

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the attestation deadline for the meaningful use program. Eligible Professionals (EPs) now have until 11:59 PM ET on Friday, March 11, to attest to the 2015 reporting year. The previous deadline was Feb. 29. Failure to attest will result in a 3 percent cut to your 2017 Medicare Part B payments.

EPs must attest to a continuous 90-day period between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2015. Those scheduled to attest to Stage 2 will report on 10 objectives, while EPs scheduled to attest to Stage 1 will have alternate measures and exclusions available to them for 2015. Attestation is completed through the online Registration and Attestation System. You must have a National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) web user account to log on. If someone is attesting on your behalf (such as a practice administrator) that individual must have an Identity and Access Management web user account and must be granted the appropriate authorizations to complete the attestation.

This announcement is the latest of many regarding meaningful use in recent months. In October, CMS released a final rule that, among other things, condensed Stages 1 and 2 into Modified Stage 2 and announced the Stage 3 objectives. Last month, CMS was granted the authority to streamline its exception process. Providers have until March 15 to submit a hardship application to avoid the 2017 payment adjustment. Also in January, acting administrator Andy Slavitt announced that the meaningful use program will be ending as a standalone program as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is implemented in 2019.

– Erin Solis, Regulatory Compliance Strategist for the American Academy of Family Physicians