American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) - HITECH
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17th by President Obama which set aside significant federal funding for healthcare-related spending, including the HITECH provision. This unprecedented federal funding and support creates new opportunities for physicians to adopt and use electronic health records (EHR), as well as other technology to advance the delivery of healthcare.
ARRA is designed to encourage physician practices to implement EHR technology sooner than later by offering financial incentives for early adoption and financial penalties for failure to adopt.
The financial incentives are based on the Government’s criteria for meaningful use of EHR systems over a period of five years (2011-2015). The financial penalties for lack of adoption of an EHR system take place starting in 2015. The following table outlines the potential incentives for those providers who service Medicare beneficiaries:
ARRA Payment Schedule for Adoption of an EHR System
Payout |
Current |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2011 |
$18K |
$18K |
― |
― |
― |
2012 |
$12K |
$12K |
$18K |
― |
― |
2013 |
$8K |
$8K |
$12K |
$15K |
― |
2014 |
$4K |
$4K |
$8K |
$12K |
$15K |
2015 |
$2K |
$2K |
$4K |
$8K |
$12K |
2016 |
― |
― |
$2K |
$4K |
$8K |
Total |
$44K |
$44K |
$44K |
$39K |
$35K |
In order for medical professionals to receive the incentive payments, the provider must:
- Not be hospital based
- Demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR
- Submit Medicare B claims of at least 133% of the maximum incentive for a program year to quality for the maximum incentive payment. (2011-$23,940)
