CMS Extends MU Hardship Exemption Deadline
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
A total of 44,000 filed for hardship exemption before July 1, leading provider to say “we’re just not ready.
After releasing data that showed more than 44,000 hardship exemption applications had been filed before July 1, CMS has bowed to pressure to extend the exemption deadline once again. Politico first reported the figures, which were likely released by CMS in response to an earlier story stating thousands of doctors potentially faced penalties because of CMS delays.
According to Healthcare Informatics, a CMS spokesperson noted the majority of applications were submitted by first-time attesters who experienced difficulty with their 2014 certified EHR system.
The hardship application extension comes on the heels of complaints that a technical glitch in the Meaningful Use (MU) program could inappropriately penalize physicians who recently adopted EHR systems. According to the reports, CMS will not be able to register until mid-October whether providers with new EHR systems can meet MU requirements. Therefore, providers who adopted EHR systems for the first time this year likely will not have their reports registered by the Oct. 1 deadline.
Providers who miss the deadline will be penalized by CMS, to the tune of 1 percent of Medicare payments for 2015 for providers who miss the deadline. As a result, pressure has been applied by lawmakers and stakeholders for CMS to fix the glitch.
CMS had contended that providers had sufficient warning to attest to MU by the deadline, and had the option of filing for hardship exemptions to avoid penalties, asserting that only a small number of providers would be affected by technical glitch.
Now CMS has issued a new regulation and guidance update, announcing an extension for both eligible providers and hospitals until Nov. 30 to file hardship exemption applications. Specifically, CMS said it would “reopen the submission period for hardship exemption applications for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals to avoid the 2015 Medicare payment adjustments for not demonstrating MU of certified electronic health record technology.”
According to the CMS document, the extensions are only available to providers who have been unable to fully implement the 2014 Edition CEHRT due to availability and eligible professionals who were unable to attest by Oct. 1 and eligible hospitals that were unable to attest by July 1 using the flexibility options provided CMS' final rule.
Responding to the extension announcement, the AMA has issued a statement praising the decision. It said, "The American Medical Association (AMA) is pleased that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken a step towards addressing AMA concerns and has decided to reopen the MU hardship submission period.
“Giving physicians more time to file for a hardship exemption provides necessary relief as many physicians are struggling to meet a number of reporting mandates to avoid multiple penalties.”
The previous exception application deadlines were April 1, 2014 for eligible hospitals and July 1, 2014 for eligible professionals. A recent final rule adding some new flexibility to achieving MU was not well-received by the industry as it still did not permit sufficient time for attesting before the MU calendar year for eligible professionals and fiscal year for hospitals ended.
More information on hardship exceptions is available here.