The Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday would require Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to allow a 90-day measurement period in 2015 for Meaningful Use / MIPS attestation.

A change to a 90-day measurement period would make a substantial difference (up to nine additional months) to providers who are currently struggling to implement the required technologies for stage 2. A broad range of industry organizations, including CHIME, AMA, and AHIMA have all spoken out in recent weeks in favor of this move.

It is important to note, however, that this is proposed legislation. The bill, HR 5481, has just been assigned to the Energy and Commerce and the Ways and Means Committees for debate. It is too soon to estimate what the level of support there is for the bill, although this should become more obvious over the next few days. For now, we recommend that you stay the current course, planning for a full year of Meaningful Use / MIPS measurement in 2015.

We will continue to update you on the progress of the proposed legislation. Be sure to subscribe to our blog to receive timely updates.