Meaningful Use - Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Meaningful Use?

The primary goal of Meaningful Use is to help the nation’s healthcare system improve quality, safety and efficiency of care. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs provide a financial reward to Eligible Professionals (EP) for the meaningful use of a certified EHR.

• Who is eligible under Medicare?

A Medicare EP is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, a doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine, a doctor of podiatric medicine, a doctor of optometry, or a chiropractor.

I do not accept assignment for Medicare Part B. Am I still eligible for an incentive payment under the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program?

If you are not a Medicare participating physician or supplier, but still submit claims to Medicare for Part B physician fee schedule services on behalf of Medicare patients to whom you furnish services, you still would be eligible for Medicare EHR incentive payments. When you successfully register and demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology, the calculation of your incentive payment will reflect claims for all services reimbursed under the Part B physician fee schedule regardless of whether you accepted assignment on those claims or not.

• Who is eligible under Medicaid?

A Medicare EP is a physician (pediatricians have special eligibility and payment rules), nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, dentists, or a physician assistant in a federal qualified health care center (FQHC) or rural health clinic (RHC) led by a physician assistant.

• Can eligible professionals (EPs) in the U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa) qualify?

Yes, EPs in the U.S. Territories can receive EHR incentive payments under both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs as long as they meet the applicable requirements.

• Can I receive incentive payments from both the Medicare and Medicaid programs?

Not for the same year. If you meet the requirements of both programs, you must choose to receive an EHR incentive payment under either the Medicare program or the Medicaid program. After a payment has been made, you may only switch programs once before 2015.

• What do I need to do to demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR?

Meaningful use includes both a core set and a menu set of objectives. For Eligible Professionals, there are a total of 25 meaningful use objectives. You must complete 20 of those 25 objectives to qualify for an incentive payment. Fifteen are required core objectives, and the remaining 5 objectives may be chosen from the list of 10 menu set objectives.

• What are the specific core and menu sets of objectives I must complete to qualify for an incentive payment?

Click here to download a checklist of Meaningful Use criteria you must complete.

• Are payments from the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs subject to federal income tax?

Please visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website, Health IT Frequently Asked Questions: http://questions.cms.hhs.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/10138/kw/income%20tax

CMS notes that nothing excludes the incentive payments from taxation. Providers should consult with a tax advisor or the Internal Revenue Service regarding how to properly report this income on their filings.

• The meaningful use standards require interoperability. Who will pay for ensuring connectivity between physician practices and hospitals? Will there be federal guidance, or will this be hashed out at a local/community level?

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has awarded funds to 56 states, eligible territories, and qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) under the Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program to help fund efforts to rapidly build capacity for exchanging health information across the health care system both within and between states. These exchanges will play a critical role in facilitating the exchange capacity of doctors and hospitals to help them meet interoperability requirements which will be part of meaningful use. More information on ONC's Health Information Exchange grantees is available at: http://healthit.hhs.gov/

Looking for more information on Meaningful Use and the Medicare/Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs? Go to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website.