Inside CHIME: ICYMI – Updates from CHIME’s Washington Team

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mari savickis 70x70 2.4.16 by Leslie Krigstein, Vice President of Congressional Affairs – CHIME &
Mari Savickis, Vice President of Congressional Affairs – CHIME

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the nation’s capital. Regulators issued timelines for Meaningful Use hardship exemptions and CHIME offered lawmakers its thoughts on key health IT policies.

With the 2016 election season now officially underway, it can be easy to get swept up in the political horse race that’s dominating the airwaves. Back in Washington, D.C., however, several health IT issues remain on the front burner.

We try to keep you abreast of key developments every Monday in the Washington Debrief, but we know that you are extremely busy. So, from time to time, we’ll bring you this ICYMI column in Inside CHIME.

On the Meaningful Use front, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized deadlines for providers to complete Meaningful Use hardship exemption applications. As you may recall, lawmakers in late 2015 gave CMS greater authority to streamline the hardship exemption application process. CHIME developed this fact sheet to help guide members through the key deadlines.

CHIME also submitted comments last week to two Senate committees that are examining critical health IT issues:

  • Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: Lead by Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), the committee on January 20 released a draft bill that aims to tackle some key health IT policies. CHIME commended the lawmakers for addressing such topics as patient matching, standards harmonization and EHR certification transparency. You can read CHIME’s formal comments here. The committee is expected to start work on refining the bill next week.
  • Senate Finance Committee: A committee work group in late December advanced a policy options paper seeking input on ways to improve care for patients with chronic conditions. CHIME last week submitted its thoughts. We emphasized the critical role that health IT can play chronic care, and pointed out the importance of patient identification, interoperability, telemedicine, and more. You can read CHIME’s comments here.

We would especially like to thank members of the CHIME Policy Steering Committee for their tireless work in helping craft CHIME’s comments to lawmakers and regulators.

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 10: