CMS hasn’t forgotten about its promise to update the Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS) website with a user-friendly “fast-track” feature (PBN 9/26/11). Now, instead of the late-January go-live date initially promised, the feature will launch April 1, says David Zetter, a consultant with Zetter Healthcare Management Consultants in Mechanicsburg, Pa. who has been working with CMS on the PECOS changes.

Last month’s news of CMS’ HIPAA 5010 enforcement delay may have come as a relief to many of you, but a mid-December survey from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) indicates the new March 31 enforcement date is still not enough time.

Only 32% of responding practices upgraded to version 5010 and completed internal testing, 32% completed testing with their Medicare Administrative Contractors and 18% of respondents completed testing with Medicaid plans, according to the survey results.

Considering throwing your name into the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) applicant pool? Curious to see what type of coordinated efforts across multiple providers CMS has in mind?

You can now read HHS’ list of 32 inaugural ACOs, all of whom were chosen due to being established partnerships with “experience offering coordinated, patient-centered care, and operating in ACO-like arrangements,” according to a CMS Innovation Center statement.

If you thought Highmark Medicare Services (HMS) was taking over as your new Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) next year, not so fast.

TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, which was set to lose its four-state Southwest jurisdiction to HMS, protested the MAC Jurisdiction H transition to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), leading the GAO to issue a stop work order to HMS on Nov. 28.

What this means for you: If you reside in Jurisdiction 4 or 7 – both set to transition over to HMS – you will continue to bill your current MACs until the GAO issues a ruling on the protest. The GAO must rule by March 1, 2012 at the latest.

CMS continues to update its web pages, this time adding a substantive section to its site for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. The new "Data and Reports" page contains EHR attestation registration data, showing how many eligible providers have signed up to attest to meaningful use, and actual EHR incentive payment data, showing who got paid. There are already two very pretty full-color maps showing distribution data for EHR payments and registration, reflecting data through today (Nov. 7, 2011).