Filing a hardship exception for meaningful use does not preclude incentive payments

You can file a hardship exception for the 2015 meaningful use reporting year even if you plan to attest to the program -- and the hardship application will not prevent you from receiving incentive payments should you attest successfully.

 

CMS posted clarifying guidance on the frequently asked questions (FAQs) section of its website confirming the dual-submission rule. "Submission of a hardship exception application does not prevent a provider from attesting and receiving an incentive payment if meaningful use requirements are met," states FAQ 14357.

 

Recently, CMS told providers that they could file a hardship exception due to the late-arriving meaningful use final rule. If the final rule caused hardship, providers were instructed to select subcategory 2.2d on the hardship exception application.

 

CMS also confirmed it would not require documentation proving a hardship. Filing the application with the provider's name and national provider identifier (NPI) would be enough.

 

The deadline to submit a hardship exception application remains March 15, 2016. The deadline to attest to meaningful use for 2015 is March 11.