As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (@CMSGov) mandates that payment adjustments be applied to Medicare eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) that are not meaningful users of certified electronic health record technology under the EHR Incentive Programs (now called the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Programs).
Eligible hospitals and CAHs may be exempt from Medicare penalties if they can show that demonstrating meaningful use would result in a significant hardship. To be considered for an exemption and avoid a payment adjustment, health care providers must complete a hardship exception application and provide proof of hardship. If approved, the hardship exception is valid for only one payment year.
Hardship Exception Application Details
Here are additional details for submitting the 2019 Eligible Hospital Hardship Exception Application:
- The deadline for eligible hospitals to submit application is July 1, 2018.
- The completed application and all support documentation must be attached to an email and sent to ehrhardship@cms.hhs.gov.
- All hardship exception determinations will be returned via email from ehrhardship@cms.hhs.gov to the email address provided on the application.
For More Information
For more information about payment adjustments and hardship information, click here. For more information on the PI Programs, visit the PI Programs landing page.