On August 28^th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule for Meaningful Use / MIPS flexibility for 2014. This rule was essentially unchanged from the interim rule, published in May.

The most notable part of the announcement is that, despite the hopes of many in the industry, CMS did not go further than originally proposed to provide any flexibility for 2015. Based on the initial comments, it appears that many hoped that CMS would either allow providers to continue at stage 1 for another year, or shorten the measurement period from a year down to 90 days like in 2014, effectively giving a nine-month extension. CMS directly rebutted these comments, indicating that they were not considering such a delay at this time, as it would inhibit the forward progress of the Meaningful Use / MIPS initiative.

Because the final rule did not provide any flexibility for the upcoming program year, most hospitals have until October 1, 2014 (and physicians until January 1, 2015) to be finished with their upgrades and be prepared for the full year of Meaningful Use / MIPS measurement.

If you have questions about your hospital’s Meaningful Use / MIPS program or if your hospital is considering not attesting for Meaningful Use / MIPS in FY2015, let us know. We can advise you on your options.