New legislation shortens MU reporting period to 90 days

New legislation would reduce the Meaningful Use reporting period this year from a full year to 90 days.

Healthcare organizations have been pushing for the switch sending letters to legislators and leaders of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-Mich.), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) introduced bipartisan legislation, the Flexibility in EHR Reporting Act.

"The continued procrastination by CMS to provide relief from the tough and inflexible deadlines within the Meaningful Use program has prompted myself and Senator Portman to rally our colleagues and take action," Ellmers said. "As a nurse, I continue to recognize the problems physicians, hospitals and healthcare providers face when working to meet CMS' stringent Meaningful Use requirements. While provider participation in this program is important, it's clear that our medical community is eager for relief but that CMS is in no hurry to provide it. Today's bipartisan and bicameral legislation is critical to the ongoing conversation about how to best serve patients and supply relief to the provider community."

Current regulations require providers to show data from a full year as part of MU attestation. Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services eased the requirements so that providers only had to submit data for a 90-day period for 2015.