In a report provided to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported paying approximately $1.3 billion in Medicare payments and $1.1 billion in Medicaid payments for meaningful use of electronic health records in 2011.
Of those disbursed funds, Arkansas hospitals received $24.5 million in Medicare payments and $5.7 million in Medicaid payments.
According to CMS, 2,834 hospitals are signed on to participate in both Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. It is also not required to have to prove meaningful use within the first year of participating in the EHR incentive program.
“This is important early progress in setting up the program,” AHA Director of Policy Chantal Worzala told AHA. “These initial recipients are really the early adopters, and we applaud their efforts. It will take time, however, for all hospitals to meet meaningful use, given financing and workforce challenges, and limited vendor capacity.”
For information on the eligibility requirements of the EHR Incentive Program, click here.
