Last month, CMS announced some major changes to Meaningful Use in the years to come. We saw TONS of headlines indicating this would be the end of Meaningful Use and the Healthcare IT world went crazy. I’m talking “throw your papers down the hallway on the last day of school” crazy.
Once everyone finished the articles, they found that MU was not going away forever, but instead dramatically changing from the program we know today (queue the clean-up crew). Not much has been released on this yet, but we’re giving you a breakdown and what you can expect in the years to come.
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA)
- Approved by House: 392-27, Senate: 92-8
- Signed into law on 4/16/2015 by the President
- Says buh-bye to the sustainable growth rate formula
- Introduces two new value based payment systems
OPTION 1: MIPS
- Combines MU, PQRS, VBM payment adjustments
- Score based on: quality, resource use, meaningful use, clinical practice improvement
- FFS adjustments range from –9% to +27%
OPTION 2: APMs
- Alternative Payment Model (APM)
- Benchmark will be set
- Financial exemption from MIPS and a possible 5% bonus
So while it appears that Meaningful Use is here to stay, they’ve introduced some pretty tolerable alternatives. Stay tuned to our blog for updates on MU and other healthcare data integration issues.
