Associations Starting to Speak Out on the Pending Information Blocking Rule Changes
In a follow-up to an article in our January newsletter, Blocking Information in Your EHR Might Cost You, medical associations are beginning to speak out about the new rule that would cost healthcare providers and facilities significant financial penalties for improper information blocking.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), has proposed a new rule that would cost healthcare providers and facilities significant financial penalties for improper information blocking. The proposed financial penalties are tied to eligibility status and reimbursement rates under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services programs. You can view the proposal here on the Federal Register: 21st Century Cures Act: Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Committed Information Blocking. The American Hospital Association and the Medical Group Management Association are sharing their concerns about the potential financial impacts on organizations and offering another potential solution. You can read more here from Healthcare IT News: ONC info blocking disincentives are ‘excessive,’ says AHA and CMS-based info blocking disincentives jeopardize Medicare participation, says MGMA.
This article falls under LEGAL/REGULATORY in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) risk domains.
Risk within this domain incorporates the failure to identify, manage, and monitor legal, regulatory, and statutory mandates on a local, state, and federal level. Such risks are generally associated with fraud and abuse, licensure, accreditation, product liability, management liability, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation (CoPs) and Conditions for Coverage (CfCs), as well as issues related to intellectual property.