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February 25, 2009The authentic version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has been released, which is the final version that the government will use in as it implements provisions of the law. This includes the much anticipated Health IT funding package for EMR adoption, called the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act or the HITECH Act.
The section most physicians are concerned with, the funding for EMR adoption, reads:
“In addition, the legislation provides significant financial incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid programs to encourage doctors and hospitals to adopt and use certified electronic health records. Physicians will be eligible for $40,000 to $65,000 for showing that they are meaningfully using health information technology, such as through the reporting of quality measures. Hospitals will be eligible for several million dollars in the Medicaid and Medicare programs to similarly use health information technology. Federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, children’s hospitals and others will be eligible for funding through the Medicaid program.
“Incentive payments for both physicians and hospitals continue for several years, but are phased out over time. Eventually, Medicare payments are reduced for physicians and hospitals that do not use a certified electronic health records that allow them to electronically communicate with others.
“The legislation also provides additional funds to States for low-interest loans to help providers finance health information technology and grants to regional health information exchanges to unite local providers. Grants are also offered for the development and adoption of electronic health records for providers other than physicians and hospitals.”
You can read a full version of the economic stimulus bill here, or read the official HITECH portion of the bill here. Physicians who need information about how to capitalize on the benefits of this legislation can visit the Achieve IT EMR adoption information site here or call the Achieve IT hotline at 1-877-EHR-1MCK.
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