CMS Corrects MU and Reform Rules

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a final rule on Dec. 29 correcting at least 13 errors in the rule published last July 28 to establish the electronic health records incentive program. CMS on Dec. 30 published a rule to make corrections to its interim final rule issued on Dec. 1 establishing the Medical Loss Ratio under the Affordable Care Act.


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a final rule on Dec. 29 correcting at least 13 errors in the rule published last July 28 to establish the electronic health records incentive program. CMS on Dec. 30 published a rule to make corrections to its interim final rule issued on Dec. 1 establishing the Medical Loss Ratio under the Affordable Care Act.

Corrections in the EHR incentives program rule cover typographical and technical errors. The technical corrections, among other changes:

* Expand a reference to controlled substances to include more drugs,

* Delete an inadvertent reference to "unique patients" in a discussion about numerators and denominators,

* Tweak the definition of hospital-based eligible providers, and

* Correct aspects of the patient panel methodology for estimating Medicaid patient volume.

The EHR incentive program corrections are available here, with the Medical Loss Ratio corrections here.

--Joseph Goedert