ARRA/HITECH

Four members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) testified to federal officials last week, calling for a safe, orderly transition to Meaningful Use Stage 2 that leaves no one behind. In addition, testimony was given to the Senate Finance Committee by vendors and other stakeholders assessing progress and the path forward for Meaningful Use.

In a week where major healthcare CIOs and CMIOs shared their meaningful use Stage 2 concerns in front of a panel of Senators, healthcare advocacy groups are weighing in on whether or not the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS) should change the timelines of the EHR Incentive Program.

A new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services finds premiums in the Health Insurance Marketplace will be nearly 20 percent lower in 2014 than previously expected.

On January 25, the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services published new regulations that dramatically extend the reach of federal healthcare privacy and security law to a vast array of companies that do business with the healthcare industry, including many HIT companies. The long-awaited final omnibus regulations (the “Final Rule”) amend the privacy, security, enforcement, and breach notification rules under the HIPAA law and the HITECH Act.

The Office for the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) issued a progress report to Congress recently, as part of the requirements of the Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Act (HITECH). In the report, ONC said that its data shows there have been steady increases in the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and other functionalities of the meaningful use incentive program.