The last day of the 90-day reporting period for the 2012 program year for an Eligible Professional (EP) was December 31, 2012. The EP’s payment year runs on a calendar year instead of the federal fiscal year like the Eligible Hospital’s (EH) payment year. The last day of the EH’s 90-day reporting period for the 2013 program year will be September 30, 2013.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made some very restrictive interpretations of what costs are eligible for electronic health records (EHR) incentive payments for critical access hospitals (CAHs). These interpretations could seriously limit CAH options for obtaining, financing and paying for a viable EHR system and limit the incentive payments Medicare will pay. The problems revolve around the language in Section 1814(l)(3)(C) of the Social Security Act .