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ARRAThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the Stimulus Package, was signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The proposed investment for Health Information Technology is at $19.2 Billion for the use of EMR. This part of the bill is called the HIT for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act.
FundingPresident Obama promised $50 Billion over the next five years to improve IT within the Healthcare sector, while planning to offer incentives of $17 Billion through Medicare and Medicaid, further encouraging providers to adopt certified EMR.
The Objective
- Lower health care costs
- Reduce medical errors
- Improve access to data as with HIT
- Create opportunities to improve business intelligence programs
- Improve overall quality of care
Physician incentives are allocated through Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements, in addition to monies available through grant programs. Physicians can start earning incentives in 2011 by demonstrating "meaningful use" of EMR. There are additional incentives available with ePrescribing and PQRI.
Medicare IncentiveThose providers not adopting certified EMR by 2015 will see reductions in their Medicare based reimbursements of 1% in 2015, 2% in 2016 and 3 % in 2017, up to 7% after 2017. The possible maximum incentive offered totals $44,000 per physician for Medicare. To receive the full amount, physicians must be truly implementing EMR by 2012: no payment will be made available after 2015.
Medicaid IncentiveUnder the ARRA, providers under the Medicaid incentive will earn from $21,250 to $25,000 for the first year, totalling up to $63,500 over a five year span. Providers will get incentives either from Medicare or from Medicaid, not both.
A Very Important AsideThe Congressional Budget Office estimates that approximately 90% of doctors and 70% of hospitals will be using EMR systems within the next decade.