Empire Government Strategies - Health Care Stimulus

Electronic Health Records

Can hospitals and private practices obtain stimulus funds? - YES

Is there grant money for educational institutions to develop Health IT curriculum? - YES

Empire Government Strategies is the premier government-consulting firm with broad knowledge of the federal stimulus package, representing private industry, non-profits and local governments. Empire focuses on assisting its clients by informing them with real-time information on federal guidelines and assists with the filing and tracking of applications. There has been a great deal of information coming out of the federal government every day, as it relates to Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This is a quick update, which may assist you to take advantage of the billions approved by the Congress.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides approximately $20 billion to encourage health care providers to implement electronic health records systems. The ultimate goal is to have a fully connected national network of health records for every American, so that both doctors and patients have immediate, up-to-date health information.

Medicare and Medicaid providers who can prove "meaningful use" of EHRs, and meet other requirements are eligible to get additional entitlement funds. Eligible providers include hospitals, private practices, community health centers, federally qualified health centers, and tribal clinics. Critical access hospitals are also eligible for specific categories of funding. An eligible professional is defined as (Section 1861 of the Social Security code) medical doctors, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists and chiropractors. Individual providers who meet the meaningful use requirements on time will be eligible for $40,000 to $60,000 over 5 years in reimbursements. Those providers who do not meet EHR system requirements by 2015 will see reductions in their Medicare reimbursements of 1 % in 2015, 2% in 2016 and 3 % in 2017 - after 2015, providers will no longer be eligible for reimbursements for implementing an EHR system.

A federal policy committee recently approved regulations defining "meaningful use." For eligible professionals, the first milestone, for which funding is available in January 2011, includes the ability to maintain an electronic tracking system for each patient to record such information as a medication and allergy list, vital signs, specific conditions and personal demographics, like race and gender. Moreover, health care providers should be able to verify and submit claims for insurance immediately on a computer. If health care providers can report all 10 "Care Goals," each requiring certain technological abilities, in addition to reporting certain quality measures, such as the percentage of smokers offered smoking cessation counseling, then they will be eligible to receive additional funding through this federal program.

Additionally, grants will be available for educational institutions to integrate EHR into their curriculum. Schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy, graduate, undergraduate and certificate programs are all eligible for these educational grants. Health informatics programs can also receive grants to help improve and educate more about the technology behind EHR.

Furthermore, several changes will need to be made to HIPAA laws in order to allow government agencies to conduct audits and other tasks related to EHR. The program began in April 2009 and will be ongoing through 2012 as they collect more data about the best practices related to EHR. The government can also withhold incentive payments from providers until HIPAA violation charges are resolved.

The guidelines for "meaningful use," award amounts, application procedures and other key requirements are currently being sent from federally appointed advisory committees to each the responsible government agency. The federal government is scheduled to release final guidelines by the end of 2009.

Health care providers who currently have EHR systems in their practices are encouraged to review the committee guidelines now to ensure compliance by 2011. Those who do not currently have a system are further encouraged to make sure their agreements with any potential EHR system providers include a provision that their system will be capable of compliance with all federal regulations.

For more information on electronic health records and other stimulus programs, please contact us at 516-663-5335.