CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse
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Michelle Mills, from the CMS’ Center for Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Plan and Survey & Certification Group, along with colleagues Elizabeth Holland and Travis Broome, both from CMS’ Office of E-Health Standards and Services, fielded questions on concerns and general inquiries over the EHR incentive program for Medicare and Medicaid.
Going over the most frequently asked questions that CMS has received since the release of the final rule of meaningful use criteria, the panel remarked that registration for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will begin in January 2011 and will be available online. Registration for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program may also begin in January 2011, but the timing will vary by state.
For payments, the panel stated it expects that Medicare incentives will begin to be paid in May 2011. Medicaid incentives will be paid by the states and will also begin in 2011 but the timing will vary by state. Under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, incentives can also be paid for the adoption, implementation or upgrade of certified EHR technology.
Eligible professionals who adopt, implement, upgrade and meaningfully use EHRs can receive a maximum of $63,750 in incentive payments from Medicaid over a six-year period. In the first year, eligible professionals can receive up to $21,250. Pediatricians, however, have incentive payments reduced to two-thirds over the lifespan of the program.
Eligible professionals who successfully demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology as early as 2011 or 2012 may be eligible for up to $44,000 in Medicare incentive payments spread out over five years. In the first year, eligible professionals can receive up to $18,000 as an incentive payment, based on 75 percent of the Medicare allowed charges up to $24,000.
For demonstrating meaningful use through both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, the EHR reporting period for an eligible professional’s first year is any continuous 90-day period within the calendar year. In subsequent years, the EHR reporting period for eligible professionals is the entire calendar year. Under the Medicaid program, there is also an incentive for the adoption, implementation or upgrade of certified EHR technology, which does not have a reporting period.
CMS is not making decisions for the provider or physicians as to how the incentive money should be handled, the panel noted: The eligible professional is the one meaningfully using the technology and, therefore, is eligible for the payments and ultimately decides where that payment will be directed.
“We expect to see employment contracts renegotiated since in many cases the clinics or group practices are providing the certified technology [and many are paying for it],” stated Mills. “That will be between the clinic and group practice and the eligible provider.”
When asked if the incentive payments would be taxed, the panel responded that the Internal Revenue Service would need to be consulted for the proper answer for individual eligible hospitals and providers.
The panel members said the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) wishes to have certified EHR technology on the shelves this fall. According to the panel, ONC has already received three complete applications for certified authorized testing certification bodies, and expects several more.
Information on registration for EHR incentive programs will be available toward the end of 2010 on CMS' website. Updated frequently asked questions will also be provided on this site.