CMS Releases Practical Guide to E-Prescribing Incentive Program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a document entitled Medicare's Practical Guide to the E-Prescribing Incentive Program, which explains the E-prescribing Incentive Program, how eligible professionals can participate, and how to choose a qualified e-prescribing system.

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) provides for physicians and other eligible professionals, who meet Federal requirements as successful electronic prescribers between 2009 and 2013, to receive incentive payments from the Medicare program.  The incentive payments will be set at 2 percent for 2009 and 2010, 1 percent for 2011 and 2012, and 0.5 percent for 2013.  However, the MIPPA provides for a penalty (in the form of a percentage reduction in Medicare physician fee schedule payments) to arise in 2012 for not successfully satisfying e-prescribing requirements.  In October 2008, CMS released a Fact Sheet on the e-prescribing incentive.

In October 2008, CMS also hosted a National E-Prescribing Conference to educate providers and beneficiary constituencies on the e-prescribing program and to promote e-prescribing throughout the health care community.  The slide presentations from the conference are available here and video from the conference is available here.

Comments

[Jacqueline Whelan]

I am working with a large FQHC who is trying to do a cost analysis on whether or not they should use e-Prescribing. We would only recommend that they go with e-Prescribing if they will receive the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) incentives provided as part of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA).

I am not sure if any of you who are an FQHC or have worked with FQHCs are aware of whether or not the incentives available in this act are applicable to FQHCs? If any of you have any information or contacts it would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to e-mail me at jacqueline.whelan@cumberlandcg.com

We have read through the legislature and are still unable to find anything that says that FQHCs are not entitled to these incentives, but we need some more concrete information.

[DJP]

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