/ Obama Action Plan - EHR Stimulus Program

Money For Physicians

Part of the new Obama Administration stimulus package, will see healthcare providers that adopt EHR in 2011 or 2012 receive up to $44,000 per physician over 5 years (2011-2015 or 2012-2016) for the acquisition of a clinical information system. However only systems that have a direct impact on outcomes will be eligible for reimbursement.

Those providers that adopt such a system in 2013 or 2014 only get $35,000. Institutions also get financial incentives to adopt early.

There are funds available to support the implementation of and the adaptation to a new EHR. Finally, there are major penalties for those providers that do not implement EHR before 2015. Time is of the essence! The U.S. administration plans on promoting the adoption of EHR such as those offered by ICC, and we pledge to all our clients:

To ensure all ICC products are fully compliant with all ‘meaningful use’ criteria and vendor stipulations with regard to reimbursement- and stimulus-eligible technology;

To ensure ICC clients are aware of the full measure of incentives at their disposal;

To assist ICC clients in applying for incentives and grants under all federal programs, and to ensure the lowest aggregate purchase price in the industry.

Providers may find that participating in such initiatives as the ARRA program is often time consuming and frustrating for the intended beneficiaries. ICC has the expertise and knows how that will help eligible providers access these programs to the full extent of their entitlements.

Learn how you can ensure your right to reimbursement under ARRA

Frequently Asked Questions About The

American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009

Developed by the AAP Departments of Practice and Federal Affairs

Pediatricians have many questions about the impact of the incentives available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to support the adoption of health information technology. While many of the details will need to be determined through the regulatory process, AAP staff has developed the following FAQs to provide answers to some of the most common questions.

1. Q: Is it true that the economic stimulus package includes financial incentives for both Medicare and Medicaid providers?

A: Yes, the economic stimulus package does contain financial incentives through both Medicare and Medicaid.

2. Q: Who will qualify for Medicaid incentives for health information technology adoption:

A: Pediatricians will need to have at least a 20% Medicaid patient population in order to qualify for incentives through this program. The legislation does not indicate how this percentage is to be calculated: per physician, per practice, or by some other means. These details will likely be addressed as part of the regulatory process in the coming months.

Please note that the AAP also advocates for financial incentives through private payers, but that was not addressed in this particular legislation. The AAP will continue to advocate for financial support to help pediatricians move toward health information technology adoption.

3. Q: How soon can I receive my share of the Medicaid incentives?

A: Incentives will not begin until 2011, and will likely provide reimbursement for some of the practice's cost post-implementation. So you'll need to adopt an electronic health record (EHR) first in order to qualify for the incentives.

The AAP has several resources available to help its members select and implement an EHR. Please see below for more information.

4. Q: Are there any restrictions on which EHRs will qualify for incentives?

A: It is likely that physicians will need to demonstrate that they have implemented a “certified” EHR in order to qualify for the incentives. The exact definition of “certified” will have to be determined through the regulatory process, but this may refer to EHRs that have been certified through the Certification Commission on Health Information Technology. You can find out more information at

www.cchit.org

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A Remarkable Opportunity

These budgetary provisions to accelerate the inevitable process that will see providers adopt leading-edge technology are historical in scope. ICC helps you engage in this process, so you can stay ahead of the curve and deploy at your own pace.

New HIT Standards

The quality of the institutions and facilities that use ICC software platform, their high level of academic standards, as well as the positive impact of use on patient care, mean that ICC EHR will certainly meet the new certification standard that will be set by the Obama Administration for meaningful use.

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Federal panel's meaningful use, certification guidance sparks criticism

August 14, 2009 | Diana Manos, Senior Editor

David Blumenthal

WASHINGTON – The Health IT Policy Committee, a federal advisory panel, adopted additional recommendations from its Meaningful Use Workgroup on Friday that had physicians, activists, vendors and others warning that the government was moving too fast.

Stakeholders including physician groups, health disparities experts, vendors and privacy activists voiced their concerns during the final 10 minutes of the Friday meeting allotted to public comment, after the committee had already voted to adopt the recommendations.

Updated meaningful use recommendations

The recommendations, which include timelines for development and certification plans, will be used to guide the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as they develop the "meaningful use" requirements providers must fulfill to get their cut of $17 billion in health IT funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Eligible providers would have to use CPOE (computerized order entry) for all orders; implement drug-drug, drug allergy, drug-formulary check; and maintain an up-to-date problem list of current and active diagnoses based on ICD-9 or SNOMED.

Among the quality measures providers would be required to report to CMS in 2011 are: percentage of diabetics with A1c under control; percentage of hypertensive patients with blood pressure under control; and percentage of smokers offered smoking cessation programs.

The timeline adopted as part of Friday's recommendation included holding informational hearings this fall, development of measures in the first quarter of 2010, work on standards in the second quarter of 2010, handing over those recommendations to CMS in the third quarter of 2010. Providers who want to qualify for ARRA bonuses must have used data meaningfully during 2010 to get bonuses to be paid out 2011.

Expanded certification process proposed

Also in the new recommendations is a plan to open the certification process to the market. Right now the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) is the only certification body. The Meaningful Use Workgroup envisions 10 or 12 more certifying bodies. These bodies would first be approved by the federal government to have uniform certification procedures to that of CCHIT.

Another key aspect of the Friday recommendations was the inclusion of a "gap" certification, or preliminary certification, to be given by HHS to vendors who prepare software in good faith in advance of the meaningful use standards. After the standards are released in 2011, the vendors would supply whatever is missing in their programs, facilitating the speed with which providers can be ready to start their meaningful use data collection.

Stakeholders: Feds moving too fast

A clear theme in the complaints from the public centered on the rushing of the process and lack of opportunity to be a part of it. Congress set a steep pace for the advance of health IT in ARRA, passed in February. The Health IT policy committee seems to be caught between hearing from the public and making its recommendations on time.

David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health IT, reiterated what he says at every meeting. "We are not in the business of making policy, we are in an advisory role. Ultimately, the decisions will come down to CMS."

Gayle Harrell, former Florida state legislator and member of the policy committee was concerned about timing and whether CMS would be able to handle its new gap certification role.

Tony Trenkle, director of the CMS Office of e-Health Standards, also a member of the committee, said CMS is working on that now and will include its methods and intentions in its meaningful use proposed rulemaking in December. "We won't propose something in our rule that we can't handle in our systems," he said.

Deborah Peel, MD, founder of Patient Privacy Rights said she feared her coalition's written concerns, representing more than 10 million Americans, were never considered by the committee. Among other things, she is concerned patients will lose the right to control their data in the process of the meaningful use rulemaking.

Mike Campbell from McKesson Corp., said the new gap certification, to be based on 2008 criteria, will make an unlevel playing field for vendors who certified in 2009 under stricter requirements.

Other complaints came from representatives of physicians' and health disparities groups who said the committee's recommendations do not take into account the difficulties physicians face in healthcare IT adoption and consequences racial and ethnic groups face in increased disparities caused by lack of support to safety net providers who want to adopt IT

For more information: www.healthcareitnews.com