CMS has provided $6.9 million in federal matching funds to Medicaid programs in four states to support their efforts to manage the "meaningful use" incentive payment program, Government Health IT reports.
Background
Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for incentive payments (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 9/14).
Through the HITECH Act, which contains the health IT provisions of the stimulus package, eligible Medicaid providers can receive as much as 85% of $75,000 -- or $63,750 -- in incentive payments across six years for meaningful use of EHR systems (McKinney, Modern Healthcare, 9/14).
CMS Funding
The four states that were given funding are:
- Hawaii, which received $836,000;
- Massachusetts, which received $3.56 million;
- North Dakota, which received $226,000; and
- Ohio, which received $2.29 million (Goedert, Health Data Management, 9/14).
In total, CMS has provided $81.44 million in matching funds to:
- 49 states;
- The District of Columbia;
- The U.S. Virgin Islands; and
- Puerto Rico (Modern Healthcare, 9/14).
Territories and states had to submit plans to CMS for approval before receiving matching funds. The four states are the last to receive federal matching funds for Medicaid health IT efforts (Health Data Management, 9/14).
Using the Funds
States will use the funds to take inventory of their existing health IT status, which includes:
- Examining roadblocks to the use of EHRs;
- Determining health care provider eligibility for the incentive payments (Government Health IT, 9/14); and
- Creating a long-term plan for health IT use within the Medicaid program (Health Data Management, 9/14).