Payors get into meaningful use incentives game

Aetna, through its provider contracting process, will offer financial incentives to physicians who achieve specific quality of care goals and who make investments in technology for implementation of an EHR.

“The appropriate exchange of health information across our system through health IT can improve coordination of care and facilitate a collaborative approach to keeping patients healthier. But we need to do more,” said Lonny Reisman, MD, CMO of the Hartford, Conn.-based health insurance company. “The public and private sectors need to put the necessary focus on building the electronic healthcare platform of the future.”

Other insurance providers are moving to add incentives for eligible phyisicians and hospitals to adopt EHR technology. For example, Wellpoint announced this week an initiative under which the Indianapolis-based company will align its pay-for-performance incentives with federal programs and implement a new health IT financing program for rural critical access hospitals.

In a joint statement by the National Coordinator for Health IT, David Blumenthal, MD, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Principal Deputy Administrator Marilyn Tavenner stated that the CMS and ONC regulations establish only the parameters of the federal program.

“The public and private sectors can and must collaborate in furthering the goal of creating a 21^st century electronic health information system in the U.S.,” Blumenthal and Tavenner stated.

“For that reason, we are pleased and encouraged by today’s announcement of significant initial steps by organizations across the spectrum of healthcare to support HITECH’s goal of furthering the meaningful use of certified EHRs,” the statement concluded. “These entities include providers, payers and professional licensure bodies. The individual programs announced show both an appreciation of the challenges we face as well as initiative and creativity in applying the resources of these organizations toward meeting our goals. The actions announced are also built on the meaningful use structure, which provides alignment of our national efforts toward coherent technology adoption and toward improved health and healthcare goals.”