What Healthcare Providers Need to Know Now
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus Bill). The Stimulus Bill includes significant financial provisions for the expanded use of information to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care across the continuum.
The Health InformationTechnology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, the section within the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act pertaining to healthcare and healthcare IT funding, provides the following funding:
- $2 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)
- $20.819 billion in incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems to assist providers in adopting EHRs
- $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
- $2.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program
- $1.5 billion for construction, renovation, and equipment for health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration
- $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- $85 million for health IT, including telehealth services, within the Indian Health Service
- $500 million for the Social Security Administration
- $50 million for information technology within the Veterans Benefits Administration
Eligible professionals in Physician Practices and Community Health Centers can benefit from the funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Payments to eligible professionals as part of the HITECH Act will be made over time, with larger payouts for those who can prove meaningful use before the deadline for year one funding. Physicians able to show meaningful use for years two through five may also receive funding, but it will be less than the maximum amount. Additionally, providers will suffer penalties through reduced Medicare reimbursement payments if they do not become users of certified EMR systems by 2015.
The bottom line is the sooner a provider can prove meaningful use of a certified EMR, the more likely they are to cash in on the maximum available funding.
What this means to you and next steps: