Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

If you’ve submitted an EHR hardship exception, you might be thinking you have to kiss an incentive payment goodbye — but fortunately, you’d be wrong.

In a new FAQ on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website, the agency says that you can have the best of both worlds. “Submission of a hardship exception application does not prevent a provider from attesting and receiving an incentive payment if meaningful use requirements are met,” CMS says.

To attest for the EHR Incentive Program, you must submit your application by March 11, and if you successfully attest, you won’t face the payment adjustment next year. In addition, you “may also be eligible to receive an EHR Incentive payment,” CMS adds.

If, however, you can’t attest for the 2015 reporting period or you’re afraid your attestation might not be successful, you can apply for a hardship exception by March 15 to avoid the payment adjustment in 2017. If, however, your attestation does go through, you can still earn an incentive.

Resource: To read more about hardship exceptions, visit https://questions.cms.gov/faq.php?faqId=14357&id=5005.