Due to scheduled web maintenance, eligible professionals will be unable to access the Communication Support Page to submit requests for significant hardship exemptions to the 2013 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program payment adjustment beginning at 8:00 PM EST on Friday, June 29, 2012 until 11:59 PM EST on June 30, 2012. 

Because this maintenance directly impacts the June 30, 2012 deadline, The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is extending the submission date for hardship exemptions until 11:59 PM EST on July 2, 2012.

The deadline for physicians to report on at least 10 eligible e-prescribing transactions to avoid the Medicare e-prescribing penalty is June 30. Physicians must file an exemption request online by July 2 to avoid the penalty.

In 2013, the penalty for physicians failing to participate in the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program or file for an exemption on time is a 1.5 percent payment reduction of their Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) amount for covered professional services.The pay cut will increase in 2014 to 2 percent for physicians who are unable to demonstrate their e-prescribing capabilities.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated it could exempt individual eligible physicians and group practices from the 2013 payment adjustment “if it is determined that compliance with the requirement for being a successful electronic prescriber would result in a significant hardship.” Physicians can apply for a hardship exemption if they:

• are unable to e-prescribe because of local, state or federal regulations
• experience limited prescribing activity
• have insufficient opportunity in their practice setting to use the required CPT codes
• practice in rural areas with limited high-speed Internet access, or
• work in areas where few pharmacies have implemented e-prescribing.

 For more information on the eRx incentive program, visit the CMS website.