Health Information Compliance Alert
Navigate Medicare With New eHealth Offering
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Plus: Promoting Interoperability fact sheets for 2019 are now available. CMS followed through on its Blue Button 2.0 promises from last year to improve eHealth and data sharing with a new offering that connects tech-savvy patients with Medicare providers. CMS launched a “What’s Covered” app that “lets people with Original Medicare, caregivers, and others quickly see whether Medicare covers a specific medical item or service,” CMS said in a release. “As of 2016, about two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries indicate they use the Internet daily or almost daily,” CMS notes in the release. “Questions about what Medicare covers are some of the most frequent inquiries that CMS receives. There are approximately 15 million page views annually for coverage-related content on Medicare.gov and 1-800 MEDICARE receives over 3 million coverage related calls each year.” Find specific details about the “What’s Covered” app at www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-app-displays-what-original-medicare-covers. CMS Compiles a 2019 IPPS Promoting Interoperability Offering Last August, CMS published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) for Acute Care Hospitals and Long-term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System final rule in the Federal Register. In the final rule, the agency outlined how it would move forward with EHR advancements, paperwork cutbacks, and pro-information sharing strategies on the hospital level. Reminder: In May 2018, CMS revamped Meaningful Use, rebranding it as the Promoting Interoperability Programs (See Health Information Compliance Alert, Vol 18, No. 5). The new fact sheet outlines the FY 2019 measures and objectives with information on the scoring methodology. In addition, the fact sheet advises on calendar year (CY) reporting for 2019 and 2020, which will now be a minimum EHR reporting period “of any continuous 90-day period for new and returning participants in the Promoting Interoperability Programs attesting to CMS or State Medicaid agency,” the guidance says. CMS also explains its policy on the requirement of 2015 Edition Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT). See the fact sheet at www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Downloads/Medicare_FactSheetFY2019IPPS.pdf.
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