Inside CHIME: Looking Back at CHIME’s Public Policy Progress in 2017

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12.21.17
By Leslie Krigstein, Vice President of Congressional Affairs

Mari Savickis, Vice President of Federal Affairs

What a whirlwind 2017 has been and we’ve all felt it. A new president, new congressional leadership and a new paradigm – it hasn’t been easy to make sense of it all. A flurry of executive orders, changes in top leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the ongoing Affordable Care Act debate and worldwide cybersecurity incidences have all contributed to it being a wild year.

Despite the pace of change and the frequent uncertainty, we thought it would be worth highlighting some of the public policy progress that CHIME had a role in on your behalf.

Cybersecurity:

  • The Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force Report was published with several CHIME and AEHIS recommendations that we requested.
  • The Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017 (S.1656) was introduced, an example of enhanced Congressional scrutiny of medical device cybersecurity.
  • The HHS Cybersecurity Modernization Act (H.R. 4191) was introduced with CHIME-requested edits.
  • CHIME members added to several HHS working groups on cybersecurity.
  • Numerous changes were made to the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework following our input.

Patient identification:

  • Congress clarified in a 2017 spending bill that HHS can work with the private sector on patient identification and matching.

MACRA:

  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) delayed required use of 2015 Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) from 2018 to 2019.
  • CMS allowed another year (2018) at Advancing Care Information (ACI) transition measures and retained the 90-day reporting in this category.

Meaningful Use:

  • CMS instituted a 90-day reporting periods for 2017 and 2018.
  • CMS delayed mandatory Stage 3 and required use of 2015 CEHRT to 2019.
  • The EHR Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 (H.R. 2059) was introduced; it includes removal of “all or nothing” requirements and institutes permanent 90-day reporting periods.
  • CHIME was selected to have a hearing witness on behalf of H.R. 3120, which removes a mandate to increase requirements over time.

Telemedicine:

  • CMS announced plans to pay for remote health monitoring and six extra codes in 2018.
  • CHIME-supported telestroke and telehealth expansion bills advanced in the House and Senate.

Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs):

  • CMS shortened the eCQMs reporting period for hospitals for 2017 and 2018 from a full year to a quarter.
  • CMS announced a “Meaningful Measures” effort to reduce quality measure reporting burdens.

Appropriate Use:

  • CMS delayed from Jan. 1, 2018 to Jan. 1, 2020 appropriate use of an imaging order policy requiring that clinical decision support tools are consulted.

In 2018, CHIME will be establishing a number of workgroups on specific issue areas. We’d welcome your participation if there’s a particular issue or set of issues that you’d like to influence through CHIME’s policy activities. Or, if you have questions about how to get more involved, we welcome one-on-one conversations with CHIME members. They can address policy-related questions and discuss how you can better leverage your passions for the benefit of all of your CHIME colleagues. Email [email protected] to get involved. If you ever have a policy or technical question that we may be able to assist with, we are here for you.

Let’s all toast to a calmer 2018!

 

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