Inside CHIME: ICYMI – CHIME Gains Traction on Core Public Policy Issues

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Weinstock 70x70 7.21.16 by Matthew Weinstock
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME

Congressional leaders and federal regulators respond to CHIME’s advocacy efforts on patient identification and Meaningful Use.

All eyes may be on Cleveland this week and Philly next week, but there has been a flurry of activity recently in the nation’s capital on key health IT policy issues. CHIME saw positive movement on a few of its top priorities. In case you missed the news our Washington Debrief, here’s a recap:

  • Patient identification and matching: The House Labor Appropriations Committee, in a report
    that accompanied Labor-HHS spending bill, acknowledged that the “lack of a consistent patient data
    matching strategy” stands as “one of the most significant challenges inhibiting the safe and secure
    electronic exchange of health information.” Although the committee carried forward legislative
    language (section 510) prohibiting the Department of Health and Human Services from spending funds
    to promulgate a rule on patient identification, it did clarify that HHS could work with the private sector
    on potential solutions (page 108 of the report): “Accordingly, the Committee encourages the Secretary,
    acting through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and CMS, to
    provide technical assistance to private-sector led initiatives to develop a coordinated national strategy
    that will promote patient safety by accurately identifying patients to their health information.”
  • Meaningful Use: CHIME’s leadership in advocating for improvements to the Meaningful Use program,
    especially a 90-day reporting period, is paying off. New legislative and regulatory proposals would
    offer providers much-needed flexibility in meeting Meaningful Use requirements. In its Outpatient
    Prospective Payment System proposed rule, CMS calls for a 90-day reporting period in 2016. The proposal
    also seeks to reduce the number of thresholds in Stage 3 and removes requirements for clinical decision
    support and CPOE for Modified Stage 2 and Stage 3. For a more detailed look at the proposed rule, see
    this CHIME fact sheet. At the same time, the Senate “REBOOT” group introduced a bill that eyes a
    90-day reporting period. The bill would also do away with the all-or-nothing nature of attestation for
    hospitals and create flexibility for hardship exemptions.

Along with these advances, CHIME filed comments on a couple of regulatory proposals that will directly impact health IT:

  • In comments on a rule to implement new payment methodologies for physicians, CHIME continued to
    call for flexibility within Meaningful Use and for greater alignment between physician and
    hospital requirements.
  • On electronic quality measures, CHIME cautioned that CMS’ approach underestimates the complexity
    of generating reliable and accurate data.

A special thanks to the CHIME Policy Steering Committee. These volunteer members put in countless hours helping the D.C. team review and respond to congressional and regulatory proposals. Click here for more details on CHIME’s public policy work.

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 22: