Regulatory Update: EHR Incentive Program and State Health Exchanges - October 4, 2011

EHR Incentive Program
Sept. 30, 2011, was the last day that hospitals may include in their 90-day reporting period for attesting to meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) for the Medicare EHR incentive program in fiscal year (FY) 2011. Hospitals attesting to meaningful use in FY 2011 must do so by Nov. 30, 2011. In addition, Oct. 3, 2011, was the last day that eligible professionals could begin their 90-day reporting period for the Medicare EHR program in calendar year 2011. Hospitals and eligible professionals who have already completed their reporting period can use a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services calculator to determine their meaningful use measures before attesting online. Information on state-specific Medicaid EHR incentive program launch dates and registration information can be found here. For more information, please contact Kevin Van Dyke at kvandyke@naph.org.

State Health Exchanges
On Sept. 27, the Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight announced that the deadline for submitting comments on the July 15 proposed rules on affordable insurance exchanges has been extended to Oct. 31, 2011. The new deadline aligns the comment period with other exchange-related proposed rules that were released in August. With this extension, NAPH continues to solicit feedback from its members on these proposed rules.