The House Appropriations Committee approved an initial $73.3 billion fiscal year 2014 military and veterans appropriations bill that contains $344 million to “jumpstart” a single, integrated Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) EHR system (iEHR).

It was another busy week in the health IT arena but, I think the biggest news is the fact that Marilyn Tavenner was finally confirmed as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This marks the first time CMS has an official leader since 2006.

Marilyn Tavenner was easily confirmed May 15 as the first permanent administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) since 2006.

While the American Hospital Association (AHA) expressed support for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) proposed three-year extension for regulatory protections allowing hospitals to donate health IT to eligible physicians, it asked OIG to take it a step further and make such protections permanent.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced $1 billion in funding for round two of the Health Care Innovation Awards. Funding will support the evaluation of projects that test new payment and service delivery models to lower costs and improve care for Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries, according to the agency.

A recently released Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) guidance offers advice on how health information exchange organizations and health IT service providers can support providers in meeting EHR Meaningful Use Stage 2 transition of care measures.

The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) saw an increasing number of entities sign onto its EHR incentive program, reported Robert Anthony, CMS health insurance specialist, at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC’s) Health IT Policy Committee meeting on May 7. He added that the program's budget currently stands at $39 billion.

The Iowa senator who blocked the Senate confirmation of acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner backed down and lifted the hold he had placed on the nomination last month.