The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes over $60B, designed to stimulate healthcare IT (HIT) adoption by the medical community over the next few years. Of the total money available, approximately $46B is dedicated to pay-for-performance and $14B to grants.
$60.3 Billion Stimulus Breakdown: Click Here
- $46.8B for Medicare & Medicaid Incentives to doctors & Hospitals for "Meaningful Use" of certified HIT
- $2B for HIT infrastructure, especially Health Information Exchange (HIE)
- $4.7B for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
- $2.5B for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program
- $1.1B for Comparative effectiveness grants from AHRQ, NIH, and HHS– does automation improve care
- $1.5B for the Community Hhealth Centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration
- $500M for Loan Forgiveness and Workforce Training
- $500M for Department of Labor for Workforce Training
- $500M for HRSA Workforce Training
- $85M for the Indian Health Service
- $50M for the Veterans Benefits Administration; and
- $25M for Children's Health Insurance Program Reinvestment Act (CHIPRA)
$60.3B IN TOTAL
Meaningful Use of certified EHR technology:
To take advantage of these incentives you must be able to demonstrate Meaningful Use of Healthcare IT.
The EHR must be certified, and you need to use the EHR for:
- ePrescribing
- Sharing clinical data with other certified EHR systems (interoperability)
- Reporting on specified clinical quality measures
Meaningful Use criteria are being refined by the federal government on a monthly basis until the department of Health and Human services finalizes the rule. For the latest information on Meaningful Use, download this matrix:
Medicare Incentives: Click Here
- Incentives will start in 2011
- Available to all non-hospital physicians who see Medicare patients
- Eligible physicians can receive up to $44K over a five-year period
- Minimum for Medicare participation: Providers must bill 125% of the total incentive received over the five-year period of incentive distribution
- Must prove "meaningful use" of an EHR
- Physicians who have not adopted an EHR by January 1, 2015 will be penalized by reduced Medicare payments
- CMS has extended full Medicare ePrescribing one full year until the end of 2011
| Medicare Incentives Schedule |
| Year |
Eligible in 2011 |
Eligible in 2012 |
Eligible in 2013 |
Eligible in 2014 |
Eligible in 2015 |
| 2011 |
$18,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2012 |
$12,000 |
$18,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2013 |
$8,000 |
$12,000 |
$15,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2014 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
$12,000 |
$12,000 |
$0 |
| 2015 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
$8,000 |
$0 |
| 2016 |
$0 |
$2,000 |
$4,000 |
$4,000 |
$0 |
| Total |
$44,000 |
$44,000 |
$39,000 |
$24,000 |
$0 |
Medicaid Incentives: Click Here
- Available only to non-hospital based clinicians, including dentists, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants practicing in rural health clinics or FQHCs
- Medicaid incentives range up to $63.5K over a five-year period
- Minimum for Medicaid participation: 30% of a clinician's patients must use Medicaid, with the exception of pediatricians, who only need to have 20% of their patients using Medicaid
- Startup incentive up to $21,000 in state loan funds will be available in year one toward the purchase a certified EHR
- After receiving startup funds, providers who can prove "meaningful use" can receive up to $8,500 annually for an additional five years
- No penalities have been defined by Medicaid for lack of adoption
| Medicaid Incentives Schedule |
| Year |
Eligible in 2011 |
Eligible in 2012 |
Eligible in 2013 |
Eligible in 2014 |
Eligible in 2015 |
| 2011 |
$21,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2012 |
$8,500 |
$21,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2013 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$21,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
| 2014 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$21,000 |
$0 |
| 2015 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$21,000 |
| 2016 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
| 2017 |
$0 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
| 2018 |
$0 |
$0 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
| 2019 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$8,500 |
$8,500 |
| 2020 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$8,500 |
| Total |
$63,500 |
$63,500 |
$63,500 |
$63,500 |
$63,500 |
