CMS provides new guidance on EHR payment program

Modern Healthcare reports on this development, which will set up a "double check" to ensure that hospitals have what is necessary to become "meaningful users" of electronic health records.  

Modern Healthcare: CMS Offers Guidance On EHR Payment Program
The CMS has published a guidance to hospitals that are about to attest under the Medicare electronic health record incentive payment program as a double-check that they have what it takes to become meaningful users of certified electronic health-records systems. The goal of the guidance is "to make sure everyone understands what attestation entails," said the statement, which was e-mailed Tuesday (Conn, 10/19).

Meanwhile, coverage regarding Medicare star ratings continues -;

CQ HealthBeat: Study Shows Drop In Star Ratings For Medicare Drug Plans For The Poor
A majority of the prescription drug plans available to low-income Medicare beneficiaries in 2011 and 2012 decreased in quality under a ratings system used by the government, according to an analysis released on Wednesday. The Avalere Health study of the plans' "star ratings" used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that of the 245 plans open to poor people, 67 percent had a drop in their star ratings (Norman, 10/19).