ILHITREC Header & Logo 
At the Forefront of Healthcare Transformation! 
Happy Holidays from
Your ILHITREC Team! 
 
Front row: Carrie Galbraith, Kerri Lanum, Lauren Wiseman
Back row: Kathy Siebrasse, Lisa Bergeron, Brenda Simms, Joan Laurino 

1st Year MU Attestations Open Now
The 2017 Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Attestation is open now to first year Meaningful Use participants ONLY (please note: the system will go down for updates on Dec. 28, 2017, and be back up on Jan. 2, 2018).  All other program participants in their second year of Meaningful Use attestation or beyond will be able to attest starting Jan. 2, 2018, with the deadline of March 31, 2018, to submit all Meaningful Use attestations.

ILHITREC's Clinical Informatics Specialists are trained to assist you with any questions or concerns related to the EHR Incentive Programs. Contact us at  [email protected] or visit  ILHITREC.org for complete details on the wide variety of services provided by ILHITREC.  
Webinar Replay Available:
Strategies to Meet 2017 MU Measures  
If you missed ILHITREC's Webinar Dec. 12, entitled "Strategies to Meet 2017 Meaningful Use Measures" (or if you want to pass the presentation on to someone else in your organization), we invite you to watch the replay . The PowerPoint slide presentation is available in PDF format . This webinar provides a review of the 2017 measures with focus on those that present the most challenges. Discussed are common strategies for addressing issues to help you successfully attest for the 2017 EHR Medicaid Incentive Payment Program (eMIPP).

Measures discussed include: Objective 5: Health Information Exchange; Objective 8: Patient Electronic Access including View, Download and Transmit; Objective 9: Secure Electronic Messaging; Objective 10: Public Health Reporting. Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
Eligible Hospitals and CAHs: Meaningful Use  
Attestation System is Moving in 2018 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to take steps to make attestation simpler for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. What Do You Need to Do? CMS has opened new user enrollment registration on the QNet portal . Through December 2017, you will be able to view your data in the existing CMS EHR Incentive Program's Registration and Attestation system. Read the full story here for action items and more information.
Medicare finalizes 2018 payment
and quality reporting changes
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two final rules impacting Medicare physician payment policies and quality reporting requirements beginning Jan. 1, 2018. First, CMS finalized modifications to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and alternative payment models (APMs) participation options and requirements for 2018. CMS estimates the vast majority of eligible clinicians and groups will participate in MIPS, making it the default track again in 2018.

The final rule changes MIPS in the following ways:
  • Quadruples the reporting period for the quality component of MIPS from 90 days to one calendar year;
  • Delays the mandate to move to 2015 Edition Certified EHR Technology;
  • Increases the low-volume threshold exclusion to $90,000 in Medicare Part B allowed charges or 200 Medicare Part B patients;
  • Counts the criticized cost component as 10% of the MIPS final score;
  • Provides additional flexibility for small group practices; and 
  • Offers a virtual group option for solo practitioner and small practices to aggregate their data for shared MIPS evaluation.
Additionally, CMS released the 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule. Among other changes, the final rule:
  • Sets the CY 2018 PFS conversion factor at $35.9996 and the CY 2018 national average anesthesia conversion factor at $22.1887, both of which reflect a modest payment increase under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). 
  • Delays mandatory appropriate use criteria consultation until Jan. 1, 2020;
  • Retroactively lowers PQRS reporting requirements to six measures; 
  • Reduces Value-Based Payment Modifier penalties and holds groups harmless if they met minimum quality reporting requirements; and
  • Establishes the new Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, which begins April 1.
Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Runs Through 2021 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds Eligible Professionals (EPs) and Eligible Hospitals (EHs) that the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, which is administered voluntarily by states and territories, will continue through 2021. Read the full story here.

To participate in the program in 2017, EPs and EHs must attest to:
ILHITREC's Clinical Informatics Specialists are trained to assist you with any questions or concerns related to the EHR Incentive Programs. Contact us at [email protected] or visit ILHITREC.org for complete details on the wide variety of services provided by ILHITREC.
DECEMBER 2017  
 
 
 

ABOUT SUPPORT PROVIDED BY ILHITREC:
The Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (ILHITREC), under contract with the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS), is providing education, outreach, EHR, and Meaningful Use support to Medicaid providers for the Electronic Health Record Medical Incentive Payment Program (eMIPP). Contact us at [email protected];  Phone : 815-753-5900; Fax: 815-753-7278.