VA Deals with Another EHR Outage, CMS to Enforce Price Transparency Rules
The Oracle Cerner VA saga continues with another EHR outage while CMS plans to punish providers for price transparency noncompliance.
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By - This week in policy news, politicians are preparing legislation to reign in the VA EHR modernization program while CMS gears up to fine hospitals that still haven’t complied with transparency regulations.
VA EHR Legislation Introduced
A House bill introduced last week would functionally reform the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Oracle Cerner EHR system after its initial error-prone implementation. The legislation aims to set high standards for EHR performance at medical centers using the Oracle Cerner system and reorganize the chain of command to include more chief oversight from VA officials. Additionally, if the system fails to meet requirements within 180 days, the legislation will include steps for terminating the multi-billion-dollar Oracle Cerner contract. READ MORE.
Another Oracle Cerner VA EHR Outage
According to a staff memo issued by the VA, the Oracle Cerner EHR system recently experienced a systemwide outage lasting 224 minutes. At a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Wednesday, VA Secretary Denis McDonough told presiding members that the system outage remains under investigation and impacted sites using the new platform as well as Coast Guard and Department of Defense providers. READ MORE.
House Investigates Billions in Misallocated COVID-19 Funds
Republican representatives Nick Langworthy and James Comer are investigating the HHS allocation of COVID-19 relief funds after finding a concerning trend that enriched large hospitals while leaving smaller facilities in the lurch.
“Instead of helping hospitals most in need, nearly $17 billion of COVID-19 relief funds went to hospitals with reported profits of more than $53 billion, while $35 billion went to hospitals that reported a loss of almost $130 billion,” the representatives stated in a letter, citing research from the Wall Street Journal. “It is crucial that we understand how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) distributed these funds to hospitals that did not need it while hospitals in need received minimal benefit.” READ MORE.
CMS to Punish Noncompliant Hospitals for Price Transparency
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it has updated hospital enforcement procedures for compliance with the Price Transparency Rule. Until now, only four hospitals received monetary penalties for noncompliance with hospital price transparency rules, while many more have received warnings and corrective action plans. New compliance rules require hospitals to comply within 90 days of receiving a corrective action plan or face monetary penalties. READ MORE.
HHS May Boost Coverage for DACA Recipients
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a recent proposal to expand access to health insurance by allowing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to enroll in public health insurance coverage.
“Young people who come to this country—in many cases, the only country they have ever known as home—work hard to build their lives here, and they should be able to keep themselves healthy,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in the press release. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring affordable, quality health care for all and providing DACA recipients the opportunities and support they need to succeed.” READ MORE.
