With the new year fast approaching, many of us are busy making lists of one kind or another. In the spirit of the holidays, NextGen Healthcare would like to extend a partial list of important reminders, dates and changes. It’s more than a wish that you include these in your 2016 planning!
From quality reporting and incentive programs, to the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, here are some important dates and changes for your calendar to keep in mind.
Important Dates
Some of the rules have changed under the new modified Stage 2 MU rules, but one thing remains – 2016 is a full reporting year for all returning meaningful users and the final year to get started under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program by filing for AIU. Other deadlines apply to PQRS, CPCi and other programs.
- December 18, 2015 – deadline to open a NextGen Healthcare support ticket for the 2015 PQRS program
- December 31, 2015 – the last day of the final 90-day MU reporting period for 2015
- December 31, 2015 – for all providers attesting to MU for 2016, it’s essential to have fully implemented the 2014 Edition certified EHR technology by this date. This includes patient portal.
- January 1 , 2016 – PQRS 2015 submission period begins
- January 1, 2016 – the first day of the full year 2016 reporting period. In addition to having certified EHR, you must also enable secure messaging no later than this date (but don’t wait … do it now!)
- January 4, 2016 – the anticipated go-live date for the updated CMS MU attestation site (notwithstanding delays at CMS) and thereby the first day for 2015 MU attestations
- January 26, 2016 – ACO MSSP reporting submission period starts
- February 29, 2016 – final day to submit your 2015 MU attestations
- February 29, 2016 – the deadline to achieve “active engagement” with at least two public health agencies or specialized registries. Plan to attend our special webinar on January 7 on public health and specialized registry reporting. Register here
- February 29, 2016 – deadline for CPCi reporting
- March 20, 2016 – ACO MSSP reporting submission deadline
- March 31, 2016 – last day to submit 2015 PQRS measures
- April 1, 2016 – June 30, 2016 – GPRO registration period for 2016 PQRS
- December 31, 2016 – last day to submit AIU under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program (state deadlines may vary, so check with your state Medicaid agency!)
2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS)
It’s important to be aware of the new MPFS provisions and how many of them may impact your organization, beginning January 1, 2016
- A 0.3% Medicare reimbursement cut (the SGR repeal or MACRA law’s 0.5% increase is offset by a 0.79% decrease stemming from other legislation, for a net -0.3% across all services)
- A potential 10% penalty in 2018 for failing to meet MU, PQRS and value-based modifier obligations in 2016
- Extension of chronic care management (CCM) to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) who meet the CMS requirements first outlined in the 2015 MPFS
- New codes for advanced care/end-of-life planning
For more on the 2016 MPFS and these other topics, join our next Health Reform Simplified webinar on December 17, 2015. Click here to register or to view the recording after the webinar.
Join PQRS 101: (complimentary): December 16, 2015, 3:00 p.m. ET. An introduction to the Physician Quality Reporting System, CMS requirements and HQM supported reporting options. Register on the Knowledge Exchange.
For complimentary MU Q&A and modified MU Stage 2 webinars register here and here