AHIMA ADVANTAGE 6
AHIMA Advocacy Team Prepares for Fall
As of this writing, Congress is wrapping their year and
AHIMA is wrapping up the 90th Annual Convention in Miami,
FL. Many members were able to meet AHIMA’s new CEO,
Wylecia Harris, PhD, CAE, for the first time. I know those of
you who attended the 2018 Leadership Symposium last July were
enthralled with Dr. Harris’ candor and ability to connect with
AHIMA’s members quickly—finding common ground as we
move through the transition before the association. As you all
know, we don’t generally see the same level of connection at
our nation’s capital. But even so, it has been a very busy end
of session for our members, as much of the focus has centered
on areas of interest to you.
Here’s a quick update of our advocacy activities as we move
into October.
The Senate intends to pass its opioid legislative package.
Language similar to HR 6280 which seeks to amend the 42
CFR Part 2 regulation (governing substance use information)
to align with HIPAA for purposes of treatment, payment, and
operations was not included as part of the package. However,
there is still an opportunity to move this language into final
bill form.
AHIMA is working with the Partnership to Amend 42 CFR
Part 2 to ensure that as the House and Senate begin to draft
the conference report for the opioid package, that HR 6280
language is included. We know you are standing by to continue
grassroots support when needed to advance the language from
HR 6280.
AHIMA Member Activities
AHIMA provided comments on the FY19 IPPS, Physician
Fee Schedule/Quality Payment Program QPP) and the OPPS
proposed rules. AHIMA’s comments can be found in the Body
of Knowledge at the links below.
IPPS
PFS
OPPS
A summary of the quality provisions of the FY19 IPPS final
rule can be found here.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology (ONC) released a Request for Information on its
EHR Reporting Program in August. Under the 21st Century
Cures Act, Health and Human Services is required to establish
an EHR Reporting Program that provides publicly available,
comparative information on certified health IT. The program
will reflect input from developers and end users of certified
health IT on reporting criteria related to security, usability,
interoperability, conformance to certification testing, and other
areas. ONC is seeking feedback from stakeholders to help inform
the development of the program’s criteria and processes.
We continue to await additional regulations to be released later
this fall. ONC has stated publicly that it is on track to release its
proposed long-awaited information blocking rule this fall. In
August, an amendment was included in the FY19 Department of
Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations bill, offered by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) requiring HHS to provide Congress
with an update by on its progress in establishing the information
blocking regulations. We will continue to keep members updated
on all future developments.
Making Connections
When it comes to advocacy, don’t forget to use all the tools in
your AHIMA advocacy toolbox. Bookmark AHIMA’s Advocacy
Action Center. We have specifically designed the center to make
advocacy easy for you and your CSA colleagues. Watch for
future calls to action as we continue to advance issues specific to
information access.
Lauren Riplinger, JD, senior director, federal relations, and I are
always delighted when we get to connect with you, as we did at
the Leadership Symposium last July. We hope you enjoyed our
inaugural advocacy session, “Advocacy in Flip-Flops” at the
AHIMA Convention in Miami. Please feel free to reach out to us
at ahima.org/about/advocacy.
We hope to see many of you in March 2019 at the Washington,
DC, Advocacy Summit. Until then, don’t forget to make
active advocacy part of your professional life. You can make a
difference for HIM and for patients. v
s WASHINGTON WATCH
