Six States Get Federal Matching Funds for EHR Incentive Programs

On Thursday, CMS awarded federal stimulus funding to six state Medicaid programs for planning activities related to the implementation of an electronic health record incentive program, AHA News reports.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, states can receive a 90% federal match for planning activities to:

• Administer EHR incentive payments to Medicaid providers;
• Ensure proper payments through audits; and
• Promote interoperability and “meaningful use” of EHRs (AHA News, 3/25).

According to CMS’ announcement of the awards:

• Colorado will receive $798,000;
• Mississippi will receive $1.47 million;
• Nevada will receive $1.05 million;
• North Carolina will receive $2.29 million;
• Utah will receive $396,000; and
• Wyoming will receive $596,000 (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 3/25).

Since November, CMS has awarded matching funds to 32 states and territories (AHA News, 3/25).

Above article publish on http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/3/26/six-states-get-federal-matching-funds-for-ehr-incentive-programs.aspx