Welcome to the S.C. Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program Website

The Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program has been renamed the “Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program”. Please note that this rebranding does not merge or combine the Medicaid PI Program and MIPS, or any other Medicare programs. Eligible Medicare professionals who participate in Medicare payment and quality programs may also participate in the Medicaid PI Program and receive a separate incentive payment. Click this link to see comparisons between programs. Incentive payments will end after 2021, so there is still limited time to take advantage of this opportunity and be rewarded for your EHR usage for each of the remaining four program years!

The PI Program continues to provide incentive payments for successful demonstration of meaningful use by Eligible Professionals (EPs) and Eligible Hospitals (EHs) who are enrolled Medicaid providers. Representatives may act in a surrogate role and submit attestations on behalf of providers. Incentives may be received by the EP, or an entity which has a contractual arrangement to bill for the EP’s covered professional services (for example: the EP's employer). 

EP incentives are $8500 per attestation. A reduced incentive amount is available to pediatricians if they are unable to meet certain requirements. Individual EPs are eligible to receive up to six (6) separate incentive payments from the Medicaid PI Program. Participation in a Medicare program, such as MIPS, does not count toward these maximums. Practices/ organizations who are the designated “Payee” for their collective individual EP incentive payments are not limited on the amount they may receive. EPs can skip program years and participate again at any time (skipping program years is allowed).

How do I determine if I, or my providers, are eligible to participate in the PI Program and receive additional incentive payments?

To be sure, you must send your NPI or your organization's provider NPIs to HITSC@scdhhs.gov or call us at 803-898-2996 to perform a nationwide check. Providers could have received an incentive payment from a state or territory other than South Carolina to qualify to participate with SC Medicaid. It is unlikely that EPs know their past participation history from previous employers and may mistakenly believe they are not eligible. EPs who qualified for an adopting, implementing, or updating (AIU) incentive payment but never attested to meaningful use can begin to demonstrate meaningful use now for current program year 2018 and qualify for an incentive payment. Click here to read more.

What if I submitted a previous attestation that was not paid or if I was hospital-based in a previous year?

A previous determination of hospital-based from our Program does not make the provider ineligible to attest in future years. Providers do not need to submit an attestation each year, nor be paid for every attestation submitted - providers may rejoin the program and begin participation at any time (although we encourage you to do that as soon as possible because there are only four program years left, so attesting for each of the remaining years will allow you the opportunity to receive the most incentive money).

What are the Meaningful Use (MU) requirements I need to meet during CY2018 to receive an incentive payment?

For current program year (PY) 2018, EPs and EHs have the option to meet Modified Stage 2, or optional Stage 3, MU requirements during an EP selected continuous minimum 90-day period from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. If an EP elects to attest to optional Stage 3, they must have used certified EHR technology (CEHRT) that is certified to the 2015 edition, or to a combination of the 2015 Edition and 2014 Edition as long as the combination would not prohibit the EP from meeting Stage 3 requirements. However, an EP who has technology certified to the 2014 Edition only, may not attest to optional Stage 3 and would need to attest to Modified Stage 2. Check what edition your CEHRT is certified to via this link. Contact us if you need help or do not see your product(s) listed.

If you are eligible for both stage 2 and 3, please review and determine which stage is most applicable with your EHR vendor. You do not need to meet the requirements for both stages, only select one stage:

• Eligible Professionals(EPs): Modified Stage 2 PY2018 MU requirements here and Stage 3 here.
• Eligible Hospitals(EHs): Modified Stage 2 PY2018 MU requirements here and the Stage 3 here.

Please read the all of the information for each Objective in full; paying particular attention to the "Additional Information" sections. See Resources Tab for more information.

When should EPs be performing Meaningful Use (MU) actions? Do I have to perform these actions the entire year?

For current program year 2018, EPs select a minimum of any continuous 90-day reporting period from within Jan. 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2018 to perform the required meaningful use actions, although certain actions, as explained in the helpful guide below, can be performed after the 90 day period ends. EPs should be planning and tracking their progress toward meeting the measures with their vendors and EHR reports. If an EP did not meet meaningful use for the 90-day period they initially selected, they may select another period. EPs can select a reporting period which is longer than 90 days and are encouraged to do so if it will allow them to qualify. Who are EPs? Click here.

Some meaningful use requirements allow qualifying actions to be performed outside of the 90-day period selected. This helpful guide explains which MU requirements provide this flexibility. Many providers have had success with meeting MU by using the helpful guide. These requirements allow EPs to keep the same patient encounters in the denominator but perform the actions at a later time.

If you are unable to meet certain MU requirements, you may exclude them if eligible. Excluding MU requirements will still allow you to receive an incentive payment and will not reduce the incentive payment amount.

What if EPs see patients at locations without Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT)?

For information regarding EPs who practice at multiple locations, please refer to this link.

Can I submit attestations on behalf of providers in my organization/ practice if I am not an EP?

Yes. You must establish an Identity and Access (I&A) Management Account with CMS first which will then enable you to begin and submit attestations for the providers.

• See Frequently Asked Questions
• See I&A Quick Reference Guide

How do I submit an attestation to receive incentive payments for demonstrating meaningful use?

    Step #1: obtain/ retrieve your CMS Registration ID

Use the contact information in this paragraph to login to CMS and obtain your CMS Registration ID (your password may have expired - if you can't login, use the contact information below). Once logged in, ensure your information is up to date and that South Carolina is selected as your participation state. Representatives who wish to attest on behalf of EPs must first register with CMS, if they have not already done so. To login to the CMS system, click the following link: CMS Registration System [click the continue button and follow the instructions]. Once you complete registration, you will receive the CMS Registration ID. If you are unable to login to CMS or have questions about CMS Registration, please call 1(866) 484-8049 or email: EUSSupport@cgi.com. A live chat is available here. 

Note: The CMS Registration System and the SLR require different login credentials. You cannot submit a Medicaid PI attestation via CMS; you must submit through the SLR.

    Step #2: Login to the SLR to attest using your NPI and CMS Registration ID as the password – (The SLR is not yet accepting PY2018 attestations. We anticipate the SLR will accept PY18 attestations on Jan. 1, 2019. The final deadline for acceptance will be March 31, 2019.)