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15 responses to "ARRA EHR Stimulus Payments Under Medicare"

1. # Brian commented on July 8th, 2009:

   I don’t believe your numbers are correct for Adopt Beginning 2014. From reading the Act, I believe it is 2014 – $12,000, 2015 – $8,000 and 2016 – $4,000.

2. # John commented on July 8th, 2009:

   Hi Brian,
   I’ve checked 2 sources and they both say the same as what’s listed above. I’ll check on it more later tonight and correct it if I find something more authoritative. Thanks for checking it and please feel free to link me to any other differing details.

   The principle of 75% of medicare reimbursement should apply regardless of the cap.

3. # Kristen commented on July 9th, 2009:

   The AMA gave the 12, 8, 4 numbers here:
   http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/arra-hit-provisions.pdf

4. # Brian commented on July 9th, 2009:

   Thanks John,

   After rereading, perhaps I am reading too much into it. ths language is as follows:

   and such year.
   ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—Subject to clauses (iii) through (v),
   the applicable amount specified in this subparagraph
   for an eligible professional is as follows:
   ‘‘(I) For the first payment year for such professional,
   $15,000 (or, if the first payment year for
   such eligible professional is 2011 or 2012, $18,000).
   ‘‘(II) For the second payment year for such
   professional, $12,000.
   ‘‘(III) For the third payment year for such
   professional, $8,000.
   ‘‘(IV) For the fourth payment year for such
   professional, $4,000.
   ‘‘(V) For the fifth payment year for such professional,
   $2,000.
   ‘‘(VI) For any succeeding payment year for
   such professional, $0.
   ‘‘(iii) PHASE DOWN FOR ELIGIBLE PROFESSIONALS
   FIRST ADOPTING EHR AFTER 2013.—If the first payment
   year for an eligible professional is after 2013, then
   the amount specified in this subparagraph for a payment year for such professional is the same as the
   amount specified in clause (ii) for such payment year
   for an eligible professional whose first payment year
   is 2013.

   I may have initially read it as (II) vs (ii) (which includes I through VI) so perhaps I am the one who is incorrect.

5. # John commented on July 12th, 2009:

   Thanks for keeping me honest Brian. I think the chart above is right. Thanks for going directly to what’s in the ARRA HITECH act and copying it here.

   Still is amazing to think you only lose $9k if you wait until 2013 to implement an EHR. Not all that much really to see how things go for the early adopters.

6. # EHR Stimulus Calculator – Medicare | EMR and HIPAA pingbacked on August 4th, 2009:

   [...] I knew that it was only a matter of time before someone put together an EHR stimulus calculator and I finally found one here. The basic idea is you input your details and then it calculates how much EHR stimulus money you qualify (under the Medicare side of the stimulus money). I think that a calculator like this is important since the amount of EHR stimulus money you get depends on the amount of allowable Medicare charges. [...]

7. # T.J. Tavares commented on August 5th, 2009:

   John:

   We’ve developed an easy to use Iphone Application that will calculate the stimulus incentives for you. Please note that a Medicare decision support calculator and hospital calculator are in development.

   http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=322694232&mt=8

   Regards,
   T.J.

8. # ARRA Stimulus Payments for EHR :Entegration, Inc. Blog pingbacked on February 23rd, 2010:

   [...] For an excellent overview of the amount of stimulus payments a practice can expect to receive check out the following article.   [...]

9. # EMR Stimulus Question and Answer: Time Period for Medicare Allowable Charges | EMR and HIPAA pingbacked on November 9th, 2010:

   [...] This is a great question. The short answer is you have the entire year to accrue the $24,000 in allowable Medicare charges that’s required to get the full EMR stimulus money in year 1 (you get paid 75% of your Medicare allowable charges up to the cap for that year). [...]

10. # TM commented on December 17th, 2010:

    Is anyone aware how the incentive money will be disbursed? I was assuming payment would be sent in the form of a check for qualifying meaningful users, but have recently read that incentives will be paid to physicians by increasing their Medicare reimbursement by 2%. The wording in the newsletter I have states, “bearing in mind that the incentives are paid out by a 2% increase in Medicare reimbursement, this means that for a physician to get the maximum benefits of say $18,000 in one year, they need to collect at least $900,000 during the time when the 2% incentive is in force”.

    If I understand this right we could easily qualify for the incentives but never be able to recoup the full amount if its only paid out in a 2% increase to our Medicare allowable reimbursement.

    Thank you for any input you may have.

11. # T.J. Tavares commented on December 17th, 2010:

    Hi TM:

    The 2% reimbursement I believe the newsletter is referring to is the E-prescribe incentive valid in 2011 (up from 1%).

    The Hitech incentive is different (although somewhat related in that it is ANOTHER type of “pay for performance” incentive). Hitech will pay you 18,000 in the form of an additional medicare reimbursement (90 day reporting period in stage 1, meeting the MU criteria and using a certified product)

    Hope this helps

    T.J.

12. # TM commented on December 17th, 2010:

    Thank you TJ for responding so quick. I was referring to this article http://www.veintechnology.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158:incentives-program&catid=43:articles&Itemid=93 but after researching it alittle found out that it was written in May 2010. I have checked the CMS website and it does look like they will be issuing checks. Thank you for your assistance.

13. # John commented on December 17th, 2010:

    TM,
    Looks like that link is confusing the 2 incentive programs. The HITECH act which uses meaningful use is 75% of Medicare allowable charges paid as a one time payment once you’ve reached the max amount.

14. # Nephrologists (Dialysis Centers) and EMR Stimulus Money | EMR and EHR pingbacked on January 17th, 2011:

    [...] that they probably have a large number of Medicare patients so that they can easily meet the Medicare reimbursement requirements and they might even meet the Medicaid [...]

15. # Brian Saul commented on November 14th, 2011:

    We have been assisting dentist in acquiring this reimbursement and we have a program in place. Email me at bsaul@totalehr.com or call me at 800-418-9415 x118 if you need the information.