The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, 2009 signed into law the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (ARRA), authorizing $20 billion to assist in the development of a robust health information technology (IT) infrastructure. |
| The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (‘‘HITECH“) includes $19 billion for health information technology |
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| What Does This Mean to You as a Provider? |
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Physicians can now be paid between $44,000 to $64,000 over five years from Medicare/Medicaid if they are utilizing an EHR in 2011 and beyond |
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Late adopters will receive significantly less |
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Providers may receive incentives under only one of the programs |
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2015: penalty reductions in Medicare/Medicaid fees for non-EHR users |
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| Medicare Provision |
Physicians who implement a certified solution and become meaningful users between 2010 and 2012 will be eligible for up to $44,000 each in incentive payments.
Physicians who wait to become meaningful users between 2012 and 2014 will be eligible for lower payments. Physicians who have not become meaningful users by 2015 will not qualify for any payments and will be subject to increasing penalties. Incentives are based on the lesser of either 75% of the provider’s Medicare Part B billings or the maximum allowable incentive. |
| Annual Incentives Schedule: |
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Adopt Yr 1
2011 |
Adopt Yr 2
2012 |
Adopt Yr 3
2013 |
Adopt Yr 4
2014 |
Adopt Yr 5
2015 |
Adopt Yr 6
2016 |
Total |
| 2011 |
$18,000 |
$12,000 |
$8,000 |
$4,000 |
$2,000 |
- |
$44,000 |
| 2012 |
-> |
$18,000 |
$12,000 |
$8,000 |
$4,000 |
$2,000 |
$44,000 |
| 2013 |
-> |
-> |
$15,000 |
$12,000 |
$8,000 |
$4,000 |
$39,000 |
| 2014 |
-> |
-> |
-> |
$15,000 |
$12,000 |
$8,000 |
$35,000 |
| 2015 |
Start Paying Penalties |
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Payment Reduction
For office-based physicians who do not adopt EHR technology by 2015, Medicare payments will be reduced by: |
From Year |
Reduction in Medicare Payments |
| 2015 |
1% |
| 2016 |
2% |
| 2017+ |
3% |
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| Medicare Provision |
Beginning in 2011, office-based physicians who qualify under the Medicaid provision could collect a sum total of $63,750 calculated as 85% of EHR costs not exceeding $25,000 in the first year, followed by 85% of annual costs not exceeding $10,000 over the next 5 years. To be eligible under this provision, office-based physicians must demonstrate “meaningful use” of a certified EHR, and more than 30% of their cases must be attributable to Medicaid, or 20% of their cases attributable to pediatrics. Office- based pediatricians are eligible to receive up to two-thirds of the maximum payment. |
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In 2018 and beyond, the HHS Secretary may decrease one additional
percent per year (maximum of 5%) contingent upon the levels of overall EHR adoption in the market. |
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| Other Valuable Financial Benefits Available |
| Gain special IRS Section179 tax deduction benefits: |
SECTION 179 PRE-TAX EXPENSING
If you purchase and install new equipment or software before December 31, 2009, you may qualify for substantial deductions available only for the 2008 tax year.
You can save up to a third (1/3) of the system expenditure if you take advantage of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act. That could represent a tax savings of $80,000 or more.
*For more information Visit: http://www.section179.org/ |
| What the Law Says About "Meaningful Use" |
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HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Recommendations |
| HIMSS defines 'meaningful use' of EMRs for Medicare incentives |
To get Medicare incentive payments, it's not enough to simply roll out the technology - hospitals and physicians will have to prove that they've made "meaningful use of certified EHR technology."
This "meaningful use" includes using the technology to exchange electronic health data to improve care quality and submitting care quality measures to HHS. Not only that, hospitals and doctors will need to meet these requirements within a specified time frame. |
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| How We Can Help |
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At SuiteMed we offer a CCHIT certified, integrated PMS/EHR that is affordable both for purchase and ongoing use, can be utilized as an in office (client server) or remotely hosted (SaaS/ASP) program. |
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IMS (Intelligent Medical Software) is delivered fully configured to your practice's unique requirements (limiting the customization that you would need to do) and is supported with comprehensive implementation, training and follow up support services by local Value Added Resellers who have been comprehensively trained and fully certified as to capability and reside in your local community. |
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There is a relatively short window of opportunity for a physician to take advantage of these stimulus payments and we can help since it is critical that you move quickly. |
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