More States Live on Medicaid MU; CMS Updates FAQs on Program
Six more states have recently launched their Medicaid electronic health records meaningful use incentive programs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also has posted an important frequently asked question on Medicaid patient volume under meaningful use.
Six more states have recently launched their Medicaid electronic health records meaningful use incentive programs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also has posted an important frequently asked question on Medicaid patient volume under meaningful use.
California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont Medicaid now are up on meaningful use, bringing the total to 33 states live through Oct. 3. Twenty-two states already have issued incentive payments. More information on the status of Medicaid meaningful use programs is available here.
The new Medicaid meaningful use FAQ is:
"For the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, can a non-hospital based eligible professional (EP) include their in-patient encounters for purposes of calculating Medicaid patient volume even if the patient is included in the eligible hospital's patient volume for the same 90-day period?"
The answer: "Yes, an EP who sees patients in an in-patient setting, and is not hospital based, can include the in-patient encounter in their Medicaid patient volume calculation. Both an eligible hospital and an EP can include an encounter from the same patient in their Medicaid patient volume calculations, respectively. This is because the services performed by the EP are distinct from those performed by the eligible hospital. Section 495.306 defines an encounter as a service performed by either an EP or an eligible hospital in which Medicaid has financial liability. An EP who sees patients in an in-patient setting bills Medicaid for the services personally rendered by the EP, while at same time the hospital bills Medicaid for the services rendered by the hospital, such as the bed and medications. Given that these are two distinct sets of services for the same patient, both the eligible hospital and the EP can count them as an encounter for Medicaid patient volume if they happened to select the same 90-day period."
More frequently asked questions are available here.
California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont Medicaid now are up on meaningful use, bringing the total to 33 states live through Oct. 3. Twenty-two states already have issued incentive payments. More information on the status of Medicaid meaningful use programs is available here.
The new Medicaid meaningful use FAQ is:
"For the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, can a non-hospital based eligible professional (EP) include their in-patient encounters for purposes of calculating Medicaid patient volume even if the patient is included in the eligible hospital's patient volume for the same 90-day period?"
The answer: "Yes, an EP who sees patients in an in-patient setting, and is not hospital based, can include the in-patient encounter in their Medicaid patient volume calculation. Both an eligible hospital and an EP can include an encounter from the same patient in their Medicaid patient volume calculations, respectively. This is because the services performed by the EP are distinct from those performed by the eligible hospital. Section 495.306 defines an encounter as a service performed by either an EP or an eligible hospital in which Medicaid has financial liability. An EP who sees patients in an in-patient setting bills Medicaid for the services personally rendered by the EP, while at same time the hospital bills Medicaid for the services rendered by the hospital, such as the bed and medications. Given that these are two distinct sets of services for the same patient, both the eligible hospital and the EP can count them as an encounter for Medicaid patient volume if they happened to select the same 90-day period."
More frequently asked questions are available here.