Title: EHR Regulatory Relief Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
EHR Regulatory Relief Act
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a 90-day performance period with respect to determining whether an eligible professional or hospital is a meaningful electronic health record (EHR) user.
Additionally, the bill: (1) requires the CMS to consider specified findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office with respect to assessing whether an eligible professional is a meaningful EHR user, (2) allows the CMS to determine that an eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user if the hospital meets a specified percentage of the applicable measures established by the CMS, and (3) extends the applicability of the hardship exception with respect to meaningful EHR use.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2059 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2059

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day 
period for the determination of whether a MIPS eligible professional or 
  eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-
      nothing approach to meaningful use, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 2, 2017

Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Burr, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Roberts, 
 and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
                and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day 
period for the determination of whether a MIPS eligible professional or 
  eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-
      nothing approach to meaningful use, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EHR Regulatory Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. 90-DAY PERIOD FOR DETERMINATION OF WHETHER A MIPS ELIGIBLE 
              PROFESSIONAL OR AN ELIGIBLE HOSPITAL IS A MEANINGFUL EHR 
              USER.

    (a) Inclusion of 90-Day Performance Period for Advancing Care 
Information Performance Category Under MIPS.--Section 1848(q)(4) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(q)(4)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new sentence: ``For purposes of determining a 
performance period for the performance category described in paragraph 
(2)(A)(iv), and for purposes of the performance period described in 
subsection (o)(2)(D), such term shall also include a continuous 90-day 
period (as specified by the Secretary in rulemaking), in addition to 
any other period (or periods) specified by the Secretary.''.
    (b) For an Eligible Hospital for the 2017 EHR Reporting Period and 
Subsequent Reporting Periods and Payment Adjustments for Fiscal Year 
2019 and Subsequent Fiscal Years.--Section 1886(b)(3)(B)(ix)(IV) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(ix)(IV)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new sentence: ``For the EHR reporting 
period with respect to fiscal year 2019 and each subsequent fiscal 
year, such term shall also include any continuous 90-day period (as 
specified by the Secretary in rulemaking), in addition to any other 
period (or periods) specified by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 3. REMOVING THE ALL-OR-NOTHING APPROACH TO MEANINGFUL USE.

    (a) Ensuring Flexibility for Advancing Care Information Performance 
Category Score.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall take 
into consideration any findings or recommendations of the Comptroller 
General of the United States in the report under section 101(c)(2)(A) 
of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Public Law 
114-10) with respect to ensuring flexibility in assessing the 
performance of MIPS eligible professionals under the Merit-based 
Incentive Payment System under section 1848(q) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(q)) for the performance category described in 
paragraph (2)(A)(iv) of such section, as applicable and appropriate.
    (b) For Eligible Hospitals.--Section 1886(n)(3) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(n)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
                    ``(D) Flexibility for meaningful use determinations 
                for eligible hospitals.--In applying clauses (i), (ii), 
                and (iii) of subparagraph (A), for purposes of 
                subsection (b)(3)(B)(ix) for an EHR reporting period 
                under such subsection with respect to fiscal years 
                after 2019, the Secretary shall determine that an 
                eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user for the EHR 
                reporting period for such fiscal years using a 
                methodology specified by the Secretary through 
                rulemaking based on performance with respect to 
                objectives and measures established by the Secretary 
                that are met by an eligible hospital. Such methodology 
                shall allow an eligible hospital to be a meaningful EHR 
                user if they achieve 70 percent (or a portion between 
                50 and 70 percent) of such measures or if they achieve 
                a composite score (as determined by the Secretary 
                through rulemaking) based on such measures.''.

SEC. 4. REDUCING VOLUME OF FUTURE EHR-RELATED SIGNIFICANT HARDSHIP 
              REQUESTS.

    The last sentence of sections 1848(o)(2)(A) and 1886(n)(3)(A) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(o)(2)(A), 1395ww(n)(3)(A)) 
are each amended by striking ``by'' and all that follows before the 
period at the end.

SEC. 5. EXTENDING FLEXIBILITY IN APPLYING HARDSHIP EXCEPTION FOR 
              MEANINGFUL USE FOR AN ELIGIBLE HOSPITAL FOR THE 2017 EHR 
              REPORTING PERIOD AND PAYMENT ADJUSTMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 
              2019.

    Section 1886(b)(3)(B)(ix) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395ww(b)(3)(B)(ix)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence of subclause (II)--
                    (A) by striking ``fiscal year 2017'' and inserting 
                ``each of fiscal years 2017 and 2019''; and
                    (B) by striking ``April 1, 2016'' and inserting 
                ``the applicable date (as defined in subclause (V))''; 
                and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subclause:
    ``(V) For purposes of this clause, the term `applicable date' 
means--
            ``(aa) with respect to the payment reduction under 
        subclause (I) for fiscal year 2017, April 1, 2016; and
            ``(bb) with respect to the payment reduction under 
        subclause (I) for fiscal year 2019, April 1, 2018.''.
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