Author: NC Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
Per the updated IPPS Final Rule released Aug. 2, 2018, the EHR reporting period will now be referred to as the Promoting Interoperability (PI) reporting period. The PI reporting period is any continuous 90-day period or full calendar year within the program year in which a provider successfully demonstrates meaningful use (MU) of certified EHR technology. Providers will see this change when attesting in NC-MIPS.
NC Medicaid EHR Incentive Payment System (NC-MIPS) is Open for Program Year 2018
NC-MIPS is accepting Program Year 2018 Modified Stage 2 and Stage 3 Meaningful Use attestations. (Note that the NC-MIPS Portal will be unavailable between 5 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2018 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2018 for scheduled maintenance.)
TIP: Providers paid for Program Year 2017 using a 90-day patient volume reporting period from May 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2017, may use the same patient volume reporting period to attest now for Program Year 2018.
In Program Year 2018, eligible professionals (EPs) may continue using a 90-day PI reporting period. EPs may attest with a 90-day Clinical Quality Measure (CQM) reporting period if they only attested to adopt, implement or upgrade (AIU) thus far and will be attesting to MU for the first time in Program Year 2018. They will see no changes to the attestation process in NC-MIPS.
However, EPs who have met MU in a previous program year will be required to use a full calendar year CQM reporting period in Program Year 2018. Since the CQM reporting period must be a full calendar year for these EPs, they will not be able to submit CQM data in NC-MIPS until Jan. 1, 2019. EPs who would like an early review of requirements, excluding CQMs, will be allowed to submit their attestation in two parts.
Part 1 of the attestation may be submitted between May 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2018. It includes demographic, license, patient volume and MU objective data. EPs will not be required to sign or email any documentation for Part 1. The signed attestation packet will be emailed only once—after submission of CQMs.
After Part 1 is submitted on NC-MIPS, program staff will conduct validations. DHHS will notify EPs of any discrepancies, giving EPs ample time to address any issues.
After Part 1 is validated, EPs may return Jan. 1, 2019 through April 30, 2019, to submit their CQM data on NC-MIPS. After submitting that information on NC-MIPS, providers will email the signed attestation packet and CQM report from the EP’s EHR to NCMedicaid.HIT@dhhs.nc.gov to complete Part 2 of the attestation.
Note: This process does not increase or reduce the information being submitted but allows EPs to complete their attestation in a 12-month window instead of in four months.
EPs who attested in NC-MIPS in a previous year will be automatically directed to the appropriate page in NC-MIPS. EPs who attested with another state should email NCMedicaid.HIT@dhhs.nc.gov prior to attesting for Program Year 2018.
For those practices unsure if a new provider is able to participate in the NC Medicaid EHR Incentive Program in Program Year 2018, please email the provider’s NPI to NCMedicaid.HIT@dhhs.nc.gov and program staff will determine if the provider previously attested with another practice. As a reminder, EPs must have successfully participated in a Medicaid EHR Incentive Program at least once before the end of Program Year 2016 to be able to participate in program years 2017 to 2021.
Visit the program website for more information.