Sequestration and the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
Incentive payments made through the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program are subject to the mandatory reductions in federal spending known as sequestration, required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 postponed sequestration for 2 months. As required by law, President Obama issued a sequestration order on March 1, 2013. Under these mandatory reductions, Medicare EHR incentive payments made to eligible professionals and eligible hospitals will be reduced by 2%. This 2% reduction will be applied to any Medicare EHR incentive payment for a reporting period that ends on or after April 1, 2013. If the final day of the reporting period occurs before April 1, 2013, those incentive payments will not be subject to the reduction.
Please note that this reduction does not apply to Medicaid EHR incentive payments, which are exempt from the mandatory reductions.
Idaho Medicaid Providers Can Now Apply for EHR Incentive Payments
Idaho Medicaid is pleased to announce that the Medicaid EHR Incentive Payment Program is now open for business. The program launched on July 2, 2012. Providers interested in participating in the Idaho Medicaid EHR Incentive Program can now register/apply both on the national level through CMS and in Idaho through the Idaho Incentive Management System (IIMS). Eligible professionals and hospitals may apply for incentive payments as they adopt, implement, upgrade, and demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
Before you apply with Idaho Medicaid's EHR Incentive Program, take a look at the other resources listed under "More Information" in the right hand column of this website. If you have questions, please contact the Idaho Medicaid EHR Incentive Program staff by email at EHRIncentives@dhw.idaho.gov or by calling (208) 332-7989.
How to Access the Idaho Incentive Management System (IIMS)
Before you apply with Idaho Medicaid for an EHR incentive payment, you must first successfully register in the CMS EHR Incentive Registration & Attestation (R&A) System. The Idaho Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will then receive notification from CMS and conduct a preliminary review of eligibility. You will be contacted regarding any issues with your CMS registration affecting your Idaho eligibility. When the verification is complete, you will receive an email inviting you to complete your applicaiton/attestation with Idaho.
The following information will be required to sign on to IIMS to complete your Idaho application/attestation:
- The NPI you used to register at the CMS site
- The associated CMS Registration Identification Number
If you don't recall your CMS Registration Identification Number, you must return to the CMS EHR Incentive Program R&A System to reference it.
Once you have completed your application/attestation in IIMS, and attached required supporting documentation, the EHR program staff will complete the eligibility determination. Once a provider is determined eligible, the Idaho Medicaid EHR Program will notify CMS of your eligibility status.
If you have questions about the Idaho EHR process, please contact the Help Desk at (208) 332-7989, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MDT).
Webinar Series
The presentations from our webinar series that were held in April and May are located under the "Webinars" link on the right. The webinars series provides information on important topics including calculating patient volume and incentive payments, attestation and application through the IIMS, and how to become a vendor with the state of Idaho.
Watch for Updates
We encourage you to watch for updates on the Idaho Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Information and updates will be posted to this website, so consider using the subscribe function found below to receive email alerts when updates are made. Updates will be mentioned in this section or look for the words ‘New’ or ‘Update’ to find the most recent changes to this site. Also, information and updates will be shared in the MedicAide newsletter and through the Announcements found on the MMIS website at www.idmedicaid.com, so check those out often.