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EMR INCENTIVES

PQRS

The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a quality reporting program that encourages individual eligible professionals (EPs) and group practices to report information on the quality of care to Medicare. By reporting on PQRS quality measures, individual EPs and group practices can also quantify how often they are meeting a particular quality metric. Beginning in 2015, the program will apply a negative payment adjustment to individual EPs and PQRS group practices who did not satisfactorily report data on quality measures for Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) covered professional services in 2013. Those who report satisfactorily for the 2015 program year will avoid the 2017 PQRS negative payment adjustment. See the PQRS tab for more details.

IRS SECTION 179 EXPENSE WRITE-OFF

There is a limit on the total amount of business property expenses that you can deduct each year under Section 179. In an effort to stimulate a faltering economy, this limit was as high as $500,000 in 2010 though 2013. In 2014, the limit was restored to its original, much lower amount of $25,000. In 2015, legislation was passed to permanently set the Section 179 limit at $500,000 made retroactive to January 1, 2015. In addition, a business owner may purchase up to $2 million in business property that qualifies for the Section 179 deduction each year. The deduction is phased out for those who purchase more than this amount. These limits will be indexed for inflation starting in 2016.

BONUS DEPRECIATION EXTENDED THROUGH 2019 WITH PHASE-OUT

Bonus depreciation enables a business owner to deduct in a single year a substantial amount of a new long-term asset’s cost. In recent years, the bonus depreciation amount has been 50%. Bonus depreciation expired at the end of 2014, but Congress has retroactively extended it through 2019. However, the bonus depreciation percentage will be gradually phased out as follows:

50% for 2015 through 2017; 40% in 2018; 30% in 2019.

Thus, a taxpayer may deduct in one year 50% of the cost of an item that qualifies for bonus depreciation that is placed in service during 2015 through 2017. For example, if an item that costs $10,000 is placed in service in 2016, $5,000 may be deducted the first year through bonus deprecation with the remaining $5,000 deducted using regular depreciation over several years. If the same item is purchased in 2019, only 30% of the cost can be deducted the first year with bonus depreciation. Bonus depreciation will not be available in 2020 or later.

e-PRESCRIBING

Beginning in 2012, Section 132 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (P.L.110-275) (MIPPA) requires CMS to subject eligible professionals who are not successful electronic prescribers under the eRx Incentive Program to a payment adjustment. Click Here for more information.