Inside CHIME: CHIME Scores Big Policy Wins in 2016

Inside CHIME - header 12.1.16 by Leslie Krigstein – VP of Congressional Affairs, CHIME & Mari Savickis – VP of Federal Affairs, CHIME

With the input and support of a dedicate group of CIOs, CHIME helped influence key policy issues in the nation’s capital.

From cybersecurity to MACRA, 2016 has been an exceptionally busy year in Washington, D.C. The CHIME public policy team and the Policy Steering Committee commented on dozens of federal regulations and saw positive traction both legislatively and in the regulatory realm on core issues, including patient identification and flexibility in the Meaningful Use program.

And there’s no real slowdown. This week, healthcare took center stage yet again as the House of Representatives passed a significant piece of legislation that will greatly impact health IT. The 21st Century Cures Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation largely focused on medical research and changing the approval process for new drugs and medical devices, contains several health IT-related provisions, including directives that aim to ensure patients are accurately linked to their medical records. The bill also addresses interoperability and improved transparency of the EHR certification process. CHIME issued a statement in support of the bill, which the Senate is expected to take action on early next week.

CHIME also issued a statement this week pledging to work with the incoming leadership team at the Department of Health and Human Services. President-elect Trump tapped Rep. Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA) as his choice for HHS secretary. Price has been a proponent of important reforms to the Meaningful Use program, including pushing for a 90-day reporting period and extending the deadline to apply for hardship exemptions.

Looking back over 2016, health IT continued to be a hot topic in Congress and with the Obama administration. CHIME was front and center bringing the CIO’s voice to Washington and growing our role with policymakers. Here are few areas where CHIME’s advocacy efforts paid dividends:

  1. 90-day reporting periods granted for Meaningful Use Program participants in 2016 & 2017
  2. Flexibility enabled for Meaningful Use measures in 2017 & 2018
  3. Patient identification received considerable attention
    1. The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology participated in a press conference launching the CHIME Healthcare Innovation Trust’s National Patient ID Challenge
    2. As noted above, the 21st Century Cures Act would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine current patient matching efforts
    3. House lawmakers offered clarifying language explaining that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) can work with private sector initiatives to improve patient identification
  4. Meaningful Use-like requirements in MACRA have been decreased and a shorter reporting period adopted for 2017 & 2018.
  5. CHIME Board Chair Testified on CIO-CISO relationships before the Energy & Commerce Committee
  6. Two CHIME board members were appointed to the HHS Healthcare Cybersecurity Task Force
  7. CHIME leadership participated in White House events on Precision Medicine and Cybersecurity
  8. CHIME joined a broad group of stakeholders in signing an interoperability pledge with ONC

Also in 2016, CHIME has responded to 14 federal comment opportunities with two more still pending. On the congressional side, CHIME submitted 10 formal statements to hearings or in support of legislation. Meanwhile, the CHIME public policy staff is building new relationships and strengthening existing ones with policymakers and industry stakeholders to expand our presence in Washington, D.C.

While we accomplished a great deal, more work is yet to be done. CHIME public policy will continue to advocate for:

  1. Reasonable Meaningful Use and MACRA requirements, with better overall program alignment among all reporting programs
  2. Less burdensome quality measurement requirements including a shorter reporting period
  3. Improved incentives and educational opportunities in order to enhance the healthcare cybersecurity landscape
  4. Expanded telehealth reimbursements under federal programs
  5. Renewed focus on a standards-driven digital infrastructure to facilitate semantic interoperability

With a new administration and Congress ready to take over, we anticipate that 2017 will be even busier than 2016. It is vital that CHIME and our member CIOs continue to share their experiences with policymakers. As you know, health IT is a transformational force that can both improve outcomes and reduce healthcare spending.

We thank all of our members who have reached out to us this year and shared their perspectives. There are multiple opportunities to get involved, so please don’t hesitate to contact Leslie Krigstein, CHIME’s Vice President of Congressional Affairs or Mari Savickis, CHIME’s Vice President of Federal Affairs. We can represent you better when hear directly from you!

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 31: