CMS Awards WV Medicaid $945K Federal Matching Funds for EHR Incentive Programs

iHealthBeat reports that West Virginia Medicaid along with five other states will receive federal matching funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)to help implement electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs.


West Virginia Medicaid will receive $945,000 in federal matching funds. The CMS press release indicates that West Virginia will use the funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of HIT activities in the state. The funds will be used to gather information on issues such as existing barriers to its use of EHRs, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments, and the creation of a State Medicaid HIT Plan.


The CMS press release states:

    WEST VIRGINIA TO RECEIVE FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS FOR ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD INCENTIVES PROGRAM

    In another key step to further states’ role in developing a robust U.S. health information technology (HIT) infrastructure, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that West Virginia’s Medicaid program will receive federal matching funds for state planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). West Virginia will receive approximately $945,000 in federal matching funds.

    EHRs will improve the quality of health care for the citizens of West Virginia and make their care more efficient. The records make it easier for the many providers who may be treating a Medicaid patient to coordinate care. Additionally, EHRs make it easier for patients to access the information they need to make decisions about their health care.

    The Recovery Act provides a 90 percent federal match for state planning activities to administer the incentive payments to Medicaid providers, to ensure their proper payments through audits and to participate in statewide efforts to promote interoperability and meaningful use of EHR technology statewide and, eventually, across the nation.

    “We congratulate West Virginia for qualifying for these federal matching funds to assist its plan for implementing the Recovery Act’s EHR incentive program,” said Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS. “Meaningful and interoperable use of EHRs in Medicaid will increase health care efficiency, reduce medical errors and improve quality-outcomes and patient satisfaction within and across the states.”

    West Virginia will use its federal matching funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of HIT activities in the state. As part of that process, West Virginia will gather information on issues such as existing barriers to its use of EHRs, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments, and the creation of a State Medicaid HIT Plan, which will define the state’s vision for its long-term HIT use.

ONC Issues Final Rule for EHR Temporary Certification Program

Last Friday the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a final rule providing the details on how organizations can be authorized by ONC to test and certify EHR technology. ONC discusses the details the Temporary Certification Program.


Certification is important because the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentives under HITECH require the use of certificate EHR technology for eligible hospital and providers to recieve payments under the incentive program.


For more information check out the Temporary Certification Program information on the ONC Health IT website, including a link to a complete copy of the Temporary Certification Program Final Rule.


More information from Government Health IT, ONC launches health IT certification program and iHealthBeat, ONC To Start Accepting Bids for Entities to Certify EHR Products.


UPDATE (6/24/2010): The official Federal Register version of the Final Rule is now available: 45 CFR Part 170, Establishment of the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology; Final Rule (75 Fed. Reg. 36158, June 24, 2010). The Final Rule is effective on June 24, 2010.

WV Senator Rockefeller: The Health Information Technology Public Utility Act of 2009

Yesterday West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced "The Health Information Technology Public Utility Act of 2009"(Senate Bill 890) to facilitate the nationwide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) though an "open source" public utility model.

A copy of Senate Bill 890 is available on Thomas (GPO PDF version).  According to the press release the Act would:

• Create a new federal Public Utility Board within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to direct and oversee formation of this HIT Public Utility Model, its implementation, and its ongoing operation.
• Implement and administer a new 21st Century Health IT Grant program for safety-net providers to cover the full cost of open source software implementation and maintenance for up to five years, with the possibility of renewal for up to five years if required benchmarks are met.
• Facilitate ongoing communication with open source user groups to incorporate improvements and innovations from them into the core programs.
• Ensure interoperability between these programs, including as innovations are incorporated, and develop mechanisms to integrate open source software with Medicaid and CHIP billing.
• Create a child-specific Electronic Health Record (EHR) to be used in Medicaid, CHIP, and other federal children’s health programs.
• Develop and integrate quality and performance measurement into open source software modules.