US Senate passes Electronic Health Fairness Act

Editor's Note

The US Senate on August 5 passed the Electronic Health Fairness Act of 2015 (S 1347), which was heavily promoted by the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.

The legislation protects physicians practicing in ASCs from Medicare meaningful use penalties until a certified electronic health record technology is available for the ambulatory surgery setting.

Similar legislation passed the US House of Representatives in June, and now the chambers must reconcile the slightly different bills into one.

Electronic Health Fairness Act of 2015 (S 1347). This legislation, one of ASCA's priority bills, protects physicians practicing in ASCs from meaningful use penalties in the Medicare program until a certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) is available for the ASC setting. Similar legislation passed the US House of Representatives in June.