Congress could potentially bring some relief to medical practices currently attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 2.
Last week, Representative Tom Price (R-GA) proposed the Meaningful Use Hardship Relief Act of 2015, which would "authorize a blanket Meaningful Use significant hardship exemption for the 2015 reporting period due to the delay in timely publication of the Stage 2 Meaningful Use rule."
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Joining Price on the bill are three representatives from Tennessee, one from West Virginia, one from Maryland and one from Nevada. The bill was introduced to the Committee of Ways and Means as well as the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
This certainly isn't the first time Congress has worked to help medical providers during the Meaningful Use attestation process. Back in September, members of Congress signed a letter asking for a hold in the Stage 3 rollout, claiming there simply wasn't enough time for certified EHR technology to grow and mature prior to meeting the Stage 3 requirements.
RELATED: Meaningful Use: Members of Congress Support Stage 3 Delay
According to EHRIntelligence.com, the latest push from Congress in regard to Meaningful Use is very similar to the American Medical Association's position in October. The country's largest association of physicians requested that CMS create an "automatic hardship exemption as soon as possible so that physicians are not penalized for regulatory delays that are outside their control."
Stay tuned to the Nextech blog for any new developments.