Inside CHIME: Advocacy Efforts Show Dividends

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12.17.15 by Leslie Krigstein, Vice President of Congressional Affairs, CHIME

With the input and support of a dedicated group of CIOs, CHIME helped influence key policy issues in Washington, D.C., in 2015.

Despite the partisan gridlock that has a vice-like grip on Washington, D.C., some key health IT issues were able to break free in 2015 and garner bipartisan support. Thanks to a group of dedicated CHIME members, our Public Policy Program had a major hand in  advancing more rational health IT policy, both on the legislative and regulatory fronts.

In regulatory affairs, 2015 saw the delayed, but welcome arrival of a 90-day reporting period and a number of valuable modifications to Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. CHIME, as you may recall, was one of the first groups publically advocating for a 90-day reporting period. That same rule, issued in October, also laid out the criteria for Stage 3. In an unprecedented move though, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services left that portion open for comments. In comments filed on Dec. 15, CHIME strongly advocated for holding off on Stage 3 until at least 2019, giving the industry more time to adopt Stage 2. This year also marked the loud coming and quiet going of the dreaded ICD-10 implementation. CHIME, along with a few other allies, was able to stave off last-ditch attempts to further delay ICD-10.

Interoperability and information blocking became favorite topics on Capitol Hill and within the administration, especially with the release in April of a report on the subjects from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. At every appropriate opportunity, CHIME made it clear that what’s needed now in the Meaningful Use program is a laser-like focus on interoperability. Along with KLAS, we distributed a detailed analysis of the current state of interoperability and information sharing to every member of Congress and pledged to continue work on creating a truly connected delivery system. Cybersecurity threats haunted CIOs from nearly every sector of the economy and government officials alike this year and Congress took notice. CHIME’s strong advocacy and education on this front ensured that the healthcare sector was invited to the policy table and that the unique circumstances providers face were front and center.

The Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee hosted six hearings on the promise of health IT. During those hearing, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke about the challenges of patient identification and the need to address this serious problem. As you know, patient identification is a major initiative for CHIME. Congressional letters to the administration urging a more reasoned approach to Meaningful Use were often bipartisan. Further, we saw Meaningful Use and certified technology woven into the new payment paradigm for physicians in the historic repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). It’s clear that Congressional interest in health IT is here to stay.

CHIME submitted formal comments on more than 10 federal regulatory proposals and congressional inquiries. In 2015, we also launched CHIME’s Congressional Advocacy Portal to encourage members to share their perspectives with lawmakers on issues of importance to them. CHIME members contacted Congress concerning: Meaningful Use, ICD-10, cybersecurity, patient identification, and more.

A special thanks is in order to CHIME’s Policy Steering Committee, a group of 11 CIOs who meet weekly to discuss timely policy issues and  help shape CHIME’s responses to congressional and regulatory inquiries. It’s because of the work of the PSC and the many members who volunteer to serve on federal comment workgroups that CHIME has been able to elevate the voice of the health IT leader in Washington and become a trusted and valued resources for policymakers.

Thanks to the PSC leadership for the extra hours they put in reviewing regulations, legislation and helping with our comments:

  • Randy McCleese
  • Bill Spooner
  • Chuck Christian
  • Neal Ganguly
  • Liz Johnson
  • Albert Oriel
  • Pam McNutt
  • Sue Schade
  • Rodney Dykehouse
  • Craig Richardville
  • Eric Yablonka

We look forward to carrying forward the momentum we’ve cultivated in Washington into 2016, to continue our advocacy efforts to better enable you, the CHIME membership, to be able to leverage health information technology to transform patient care.

For more details about CHIME’s public policy efforts, click here.

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 7: