You can expect to notified by the federal government that your Medicare payments will be cut if you failed to meet meaningful use standards for using electronic health records.
Penalties will affect more than 50% of physicians who treat Medicare patients.
Over 257,000 doctors will see a 1% reduction in Medicare payments for 2015 for failing to meet goals for using electronic medical records. CMS has already started notifying physicians that have not successfully participated in the program, that they will be subject to payment adjustments in 2015.
These fines in 2015 are a result of providers missing an important deadline in 2013.
Even if your practice has since complied, you will still experience the cuts. We help our providers stay on top of important deadlines and get compliant to avoid costly penalties.
Additional Fines and Penalties for Providers.
An additional 28,000 providers will face another 1% Medicare pay penalty for not prescribing medications electronically.
Approximately 400,000 providers received bonus payments since 2011 for meeting goals, but those incentives are being gradually replaced by penalties for non-participating physicians.
Medicare payments are set to drop by 2% across the board every year. By 2017, some doctors will have realized an 11% drop in their Medicare billings from a combination of cuts and penalties.
Meaningful Use Stage 2 Attestation.
Stage 2 seems to be even more difficult for doctors to attest to – only 4% of eligible providers attested by December 1.
Physicians have until April to reach the goal, but must attest for a full year in 2015 to avoid penalties.
To avoid additional penalties for your practice, it is essential to stay on top of the program deadlines.
In our next blog post, we will keep you informed of related issues. To get this important information delivered directly to your mail box, Click here to Subscribe
Do you need help attesting to stage 2 meaningful use or preparing your practice for penalties or upcoming deadlines? We can help. To contact us about your meaningful use attestation, concerns of impending penalties, compliance or your other legal needs: CLICK HERE.
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