EHR Registration & Attestation:  Proxy Allowed or Not Allowed?
By: Bellinger P. Moody, RHIA, CPC, CCP, CPC-I
Executive Vice President of Compliance

February 1, 2011

There has been quite a bit of confusion over whether CMS will allow someone besides the provider - a proxy - (e.g. billing office staff, practice manager, etc.) to register and attest for the EHR Incentive bonus payment.

Initially, CMS stated that only providers themselves could register & attest for the EHR Incentive bonus payment. However, according to Medicare Part B News, Vol. 25, Issue 25, January 31, 2011:  “. . . according to a CMS email [written by Jennifer Kahn, technical director for health information technology (HIT) to a practice manager] obtained by Part B News . . . ,” “Proxy registration is allowed . . . proxy attestation is not allowed”.

However, this same article in Medicare Part B News also states that “CMS officials from the agency’s media relations department were unable to confirm whether the emailed statement was accurate as Part B News went to press January 26th”.

Under the current registration provisions, each provider must register and attest individually. There is no “group” registration process. Hopefully, CMS will work to change this requirement and allow “group” registration in the coming weeks. 

Although it appears CMS will allow proxy registration, it is certain that the provider himself must attest for the 90-day reporting period to get the 2011 bonus for meaningful use. Medicare funds will be paid on a rolling basis via an “attestation process”.  For calendar year 2011 bonus payment, an eligible provider (EP) only needs to demonstrate meaningful use for a continuous 90-day period and attest that they have met 20 required measures (15 “core” measures and five non-core measures selected from a “menu” of options) – and are using a certified system. This attestation may be performed by logging on to the CMS website at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/20_RegistrationandAttestation.asp and opening the Registration User Guide for Eligible Professionals and clicking on the “Attestation Tab”.


The information presented herein reflects general information that is current as of the date it was first published.  In light of changes that may occur in the health care regulatory and compliance environments, the author's presentation of this information might become outdated.  Please check with your individual legal and/or compliance advisor(s) prior to taking any significant actions based upon the information and advice presented.