About the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), was signed into law in February, 2009, with the objective to stimulate the economy through investments in infrastructure, unemployment benefits, transportation, education, and healthcare.

The ARRA includes over $20 billion to aid the development of a robust healthcare information technology infrastructure, while assisting providers in adopting and using healthcare IT systems. The portion of the Recovery Act specifically relating to the funding for HIT is referred to as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH).

The ARRA lists the following items as the five broad goals for funding:

Improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities
Engage patients and families
Improve care coordination
Ensure adequate privacy & security protections for personal information
Improve population and public health

Providers are eligible to earn either Medicare or Medicaid incentive payments by demonstrating meaningful use of a certified EHR technology. The criteria for becoming a meaningful user of HIT has been released by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Both programs commence in October 2010 for hospitals and January 2011 for eligible provider categories.

For those who choose the Medicare program, payments will be calculated by multiplying the allowable charges by 75%; paying reimbursement bonuses up to the capped amount for the year ($18,000 in 2011). In order to receive the full amount for 2011, the eligible provder needs to submit claims with allowable charges of $24,000 or more. Qualified participants who do not meet the threshold will receive a proportionate amount less than the $18,000 in 2011.

For the Medicaid program, the eligible provider can receive "up to 85% of the net average allowable costs for certified EHR technology, including support and training (determined on the basis of studies that the Secretary will undertake)" and will receive up to $25,000 in the first year, and up to $10,000 in the subsequent reporting years.

Some inclusions in the proposed definitions for "meaningful use" have been listed as:

Using a certified EHR
Utilizing e-prescribing
Participation in the electronic exchange of health information in efforts to improve quality of care
Demonstrating interoperability of systems
The submission of information on clinical quality measures, as well as others chosen by the Secretary of HHS

Eligible providers are listed as:

A doctor of medicine or osteopathy
A doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine
A doctor of podiatric medicine
A doctor of optometry
A chiropractor

For more information on ARRA, HITECH & meaningful use, visit www.recovery.gov.