Newsletter from Med-Pro Management, Inc.

Since the EHR incentive program opened in January of 2011, more than $158 million has been paid for both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. In total, the Federal Government has paid:

$75 million for the Medicare EHR incentive program
$83.3 million for the Medicaid EHR incentive program

The following are notable differences between the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs:

Medicare	Medicaid
Federal Government will implement (will be an option nationally)	Voluntary for States to implement (may not be an option in every State)
Payment reductions begin in 2015 for providers that do not demonstrate Meaningful Use	No Medicaid payment reductions
Must demonstrate Meaningful Use in the first year	Adopt, implement and upgrade option for 1^st participation year
Maximum incentive is $44,000 for Eligible Professionals (10% bonus for Eligible Professionals in Health Professional Shortage Area)	Maximum incentive is $63,750 for Eligible Professionals
Meaningful Use definition is standard for Medicare	States can adopt certain additional requirements for Meaningful Use
Last year a provider may initiate program is 2014; Last year to register is 2016; Payment adjustments begin in 2015	Last year a provider may initiate program is 2016; Last year to register is 2016
Eligible Professionals include: Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy Doctor of Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine Doctor of Podiatry Doctor of Optometry Chiropractor ...and subsection (d) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).	Eligible Professionals include: Physicians (primarily Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathy) Nurse Practitioner Certified Nurse-Midwife Dentist Physician assistant who furnishes services in a Federally Qualified Health Center or Rural Health Clinic that is led by a physician assistant. ...and acute care hospitals (including CAHs) and children's hospitals.

In order to receive the Medicare or MediCaid EHR incentive payments, follow the steps below:

Successfully register for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program;
- Register for Medicare or MediCaid at: Medicare/Medicaid Registration;
- If applying for MediCaid incentive, register at: State Level Registry (California only)
Meet Meaningful Use criteria using certified EHR technology (Check to see if your software is certified under the EHR incentive program at: http://onc-chpl.force.com/ehrcert); and
Successfully attest, using CMS' Web-based system, that you have met meaningful use criteria using certified EHR technology.