|
COHIE - Central Ohio Health Information Exchange Monthly EHR & Stimulus Funding Update |
June 2011 - Special Edition |
|
|
Over the last year, the Central Ohio Health Information Exchange (COHIE) has worked with hundreds of physicians and mid-level providers in central Ohio. Whether a practice is just in the beginning of the process of converting to EHR or has been up and running for years, we have found that many questions and misinformation exists regarding the two EHR Incentive Programs for Medicare and Ohio Medicaid.
In the following paragraphs, I will clarify for you how much money you can be paid for these EHR Incentive Programs, and what requirements you will have to meet to qualify for the incentives. It is important to note that a physician can participate in EITHER the Medicare or Ohio Medicaid programs. They cannot participate in both at the same time. Additionally, once a physician receives an incentive payment from one of the prgrams, they are entitled to a ONE-TIME switch to the other EHR Incentive Program.
And remember, COHIE has been federally-recognized as your regional extension center partner for central Ohio and is here to assist you with achieving Meaningful Use incentives. Whether your practice has an existing electronic health record (EHR), or your practice wants to implement an EHR, we can assist you. If you practice in the areas of pediatrics, family medicine, general internal medicine, or obstetrics/gynecology, our assistance is AT NO COST to you as well.
Sincerely,
Matt Esker, Director
COHIE - Central Ohio Health Information Exchange
(614) 384-9174 matte@cohie.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Medicare EHR Incentive Program | |
 The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs) that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
- Participation can begin as early as 2011.
- Eligible professionals can receive a MAXIMUM OF $44,000 over five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There's an additional incentive for eligible professionals who provide services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HSPA).
- To get the maximum incentive payment, Medicare eligible professionals must begin participation in either 2011 or 2012.
- The dollar amounts of the incentives are tied to your Traditional Medicare Allowed Charges, not to the volume of Medicare patient encounters.
- Here's an example for you: The first year maximum incentive payment is $18,000. In order to get the MAXIMUM first year payment, you must have had $24,000 in traditional Medicare allowed charges in the previous calendar year. If you had less than $24,000 in traditional Medicare allowed charges, don't worry. You can still get a partial bonus. It will be 75% of your allowed charges in the previous calendar year. For example, if you had $20,000 in traditional Medicare allowed charges, your first year incentive payment is $15,000.
For assistance with achieving Meaningful Use Incentives, contact Matt Esker, Director for COHIE, at 614-384-9174 or at matte@cohie.org. |
|
The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program | |
 The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs) as they adopt, implement, upgrade, or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology in their first year of participation and demonstrate meaningful use for up to five remaining participation years.
- The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is offered by the state of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services and will begin June 2011
- Eligible professionals can receive UP TO $63,750 over the six years that they choose to participate in the program
- There are NO payment adjustments under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
- As a physician, your patient encounter volume must be 30% Medicaid. For PEDIATRICIANS, the percentage is 20% to qualify, but having less than a 30% encounter volume results in a reduced incentive payment.
- EP Patient Volume is derived by dividing the total Medicaid patient encounters (fee-for-service and managed care encounters) in any representative, continuous 90-day period in the preceding calendar year by the total patient encounters in the same 90-day period.
For assistance with achieving Meaningful Use Incentives, contact Matt Esker, Director for COHIE, at 614-384-9174 or at matte@cohie.org. |
OHIP is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, grant numbers 90RC0012 and 90HT0024 |
|
|
