The Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is awarding of a total of just over $9 million in matching funds to four states for planning activities necessary to implement the EHR incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
According to the CMS, the approximate totals are as follows:
· New Jersey — $4.93 million
· Louisiana — $1.85 million
· Minnesota — $1.04 million
· Maryland — $1.37 million
The Recovery Act provides a 90 percent federal match for state planning activities to administer the incentive payments to Medicaid providers, to ensure their proper payments through audits and to participate in statewide efforts to promote interoperability and meaningful use of EHR technology, says CMS.
The four states listed above will utilize federal matching funds to conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of HIT activities in the state. As part of that process, they will gather data on issues such as existing barriers to EHR adoption, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments, and the creation of a State Medicaid HIT Plan.
Since November 2009, 39 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have shared nearly $67.6 million in planning grants. For more information on implementation of the Medicaid-related provisions of the Recovery Act’s EHR incentive payment program may be found here.
