Want Money? Show Medicare and Medicaid Meaningful Uses of EHR
We are pleased to include here the comments of colleague, Paul Quinn, a Partner in Nossaman's Washington DC office.
Two new final governmental rules implementing the “HITECH Act,” an aspect of the “Obama Stimulus Bill,” now provide financial incentives through Medicare and Medicaid for qualified hospitals and individual healthcare professionals who can demonstrate “meaningful use” of Electronic Health Records (EHR).
One rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), defines the minimum requirements providers must meet in order to qualify for the payments and the other rule, issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), identifies the standards and certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology.
The amount of financial incentives for hospitals from Medicare and Medicaid is not specifically limited and may run into the millions of dollars. The amount for professionals is limited to $44,000 for Medicare and $63,750 for Medicaid.
For entities seeking approval as an ONC-authorized testing and certification body, the application period has been open since July 1, 2010. For medicare and medicaid providers who become approved to demonstrate meaningful use of EHR, payments may begin to flow as soon as October 2010. As part of the implementation process, HHS is establishing a nation-wide network of Regional Extension Centers to assist providers in adopting and using certified EHR technology in a meaningful way.
A CMS/ONC fact sheet on the rules as well as technical fact sheets on CMS's rule can be found by clicking here. Additionally, a technical fact sheet on ONC’s standards and certification criteria final rule is available here.
Links to rules via Federal Register:
- http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17207_PI.pdf
- http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17210_PI.pdf
If you would like additional information or assistance in taking advantage of this opportunity please contact Nossaman Partners, Paul Quinn or John Wagner.
