|Articles|June 11, 2015

Physicians left in Meaningful Use limbo

The MGMA, among others representing medical practices, is asking CMS to delay the Stage 3 rules of meaningful use to benefit physicians and patients.

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) recently joined organizations like the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association in urging CMS to delay the finalization of Stage 3 of its EHR Incentive Program.

In a letter to CMS acting administrator Andrew Slavitt, MGMA President and CEO Halee Fischer-Wright notes the group's strong support for the adoption of health information technology, but, "in order to maximize the success of the [meaningful use] program," it feels a delay is in order.

Among the issues the MGMA notes in its letter is the conflict between the stronger requirements in the Stage 3 proposed rule and the recently proposed relaxation of similar requirements under the Stage 2 rules. The group also advises Stage 3 should be delayed until the impact of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is fully known. In addition to repealing the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, MACRA also streamlines existing quality reporting programs - the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the meaningful use program, and value-based payment modifiers - under a new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

In this video, Anders M. Gilberg, the MGMA's senior vice president for government affairs, discusses the confusion existing in medical practices trying to meaningfully use their EHRs and the organization's thoughts on the Stage 3 rules.

The MGMA and its 50 state affiliates represent more than 33,000 administrators and executives in over 18,000 healthcare organizations, in which 385,000 physicians practice.

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