Home Forums Discussions Meaningful Use Rejected Application

So I and my goup of doc friends have come to the conclusion that this whole MU has been another scam on docs.
Promises made by the government to dispense money.
To be administered by the state governments at their discretion.
So, the state can hold the $ as long as they want regardless of whether the docs in the state have fulfilled their obligations or not.

Georgia rejected my EHR incentive application because they 'prefer' a signed contract between myself and the EHR company. Ummm, AC does not have signed contracts. AC gave me a letter stating that fact, and the state medicaid director said "Oh, I need legal to review this. It may not be enough"

What? I would think that if providing signed paper contracts was one of the federal requirements then AC would have them available.

Have any other GA users had this issue?
Was it solved somehow ?

I am not in Georgia but I too am frustrated by red tape. I have not been allow to register with the medicare site for my attestation although I have met all the requirements since Oct 1. I was done my 90 and met all the goals by that date but when I try to attest they won't except my PECOS number. I had a PA working in my office until mid 2008. He retired and I didn't hire anyone else. Apparently this means I need another pecos number. I don't get it. Of course the process for getting a new pecos number is at a standstill as suddenly they are overwhelmed. I did all the paperwork for that when this issue was discovered in early October. Of course I had to resubmit it all last week because they can't find it although it was all submitted electronically and we have a receipt for it. Pure government bureacracy run amuck.
Have you spoken with the regional extension center in your region of Georgia?? Those REC's have received grant money from the Feds to help us get the MU money we have been promised.
I feel your pain.....glad I haven't invested more than I have in this nonsence.

NY2GA_Doc,
As far as the hand signed contract business, just trying to help, but you may want to print out the "terms of service" for AC and hand sign it and date it print your name, and title, and medicaid ID number, and then mail it to Amazing charts for same. It's a shame to have to stoop to GA medicaid's level, but it may be the most expedient way to solve you problem. Note I am not a Georgia provider. Maybe some other Georgia Provider's can chime in.

I am honestly thinking of dropping Medicare soon. I cannot believe they are incentivizing docs to practice what they deem "better medicine." I just received from AMA the new cuts and reporting that will happen if you are not reporting "met criteria" and the looming 27.5% cuts, it is a disaster waiting to happen. Oh yeah, you can be audited for not meeting "standards." These standards are determined by who? Wow this sounds like overregulation just as they did with hospital surgeries and reporting "SCIP" criteria for surgeons which has been nothing but a compete mess. They are taking away medicine from the doctor-patient to bureaucracy and I am fed up. Thankfully not lot of my patients are Medicare but I do feel bad stopping coverage since I like caring for our elderly! Most of us Doctors are just practicing good/sound medicine and taking care of our patients well for very little money! Honestly, I would rather do charity work for the elderly than participate in this mess.

We came to that conclusion some years back, and have never looked back. Seeing the elderly under private contract allows us to act charitably when necessary. Primary care charges are just not that big a deal. The big hit items... imaging and lab.... are covered by the hospital which has other sources of funding to bolster Medicare fees. And our freedom is priceless.

So David did you Opt out or become non-par, also did it effect your private insurers contracts?
Thanks for your help!

Jack,

We opted out, and have private contracts with our Medicare eligible patients. We have no private insurance contracts, thank heavens... those concepts have not penetrated up here beyond being a preferred provider for Blue cross.

Thanks All for your comments.
@KenP - thats a great idea. I will try that if the 'legal' dept continues to deny my paperwork.

As far as the Regional Extension Centers are concerned, I have very very close relationship, and they become as frustrated as providors do. My application is past the REC stage. It's the last stage before payment .... approval by the state.

Reminds me of a line from an old song...."North to ALASKA, ..the race is on"
Sounds wonderful.

Hey, Martin, I'll load up the wagon and hitch the mules. You load up the truck (don't forget your Dutch oven!) and I'll meet you in Whitehorse!!

You guys are all talk and no action!!

I take that to mean that if at some time in the future I show up at your office door looking for work you will welcome me with open arms??

We have an active recruiting program for the community at all times. It is tough finding talented folks who are willing to live 2,500 miles away from their or their spouse's family, or the opera, or whatever. I bet you will also find you have lots of reasons to not seriously consider moving to the frontier. If not, give me a call.

If I were single, had no significant possessions and no animals I would have to part with I would be there in a flash.... maybe not Fairbanks...it was my least favorite spot that I visited when in Alaska. And not Cordova. And not Nome. And not Anchorage. Maybe BC instead, like Prince George, or Victoria. Or maybe more realistically like Washington state, yea, the Olympic Pen, or maybe Seattle. Or maybe Indianapolis.......

Reminds me of a line from an old song...."North to Indianapolis, ..the race is on".

I'd love to hear more about this!