01/11/2016

Congress Passes Legislation Allowing CMS to Expedite Stage 2 Meaningful Use Hardship Exemption Applications

On December 18, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed, S. 2425, the “Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act,” which included a provision granting CMS the authority to expedite applications for

exemptions from Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements for the 2015 calendar year.  The legislation also gives CMS the authority to process requests for hardship exemptions through a more streamlined process.

Eligible professionals must attest that they met the requirements for Stage 2 for a period of 90 consecutive days during calendar year 2015 to avoid a penalty under the meaningful use program. Unfortunately, CMS did not

publish the Modifications Rule for Stage 2 of meaningful use until October16, meaning eligible professionals were not informed of the revised program requirements until fewer than the 90 required days remained in the

calendar year.

CMS has previously stated that it will grant hardship exemptions for 2015 if eligible providers are unable to attest due to the lateness of the rule, but the agency can only grant such exemptions on a case-by-case basis. Eligible professionals who were unable to show that they met the Stage 2 meaningful use requirements must apply for

exemptions and CMS will review each application.

Click here to learn more about applying for a hardship exemption.