ARRA Q&A: Are imaging costs recoupable under the HITECH act?

Corey sent me the following question:

Are imaging costs recoupable under the HITECH act?

Corey,
There are 2 major sections to receive stimulus money from the HITECH act. One is through Medicare and the other is through Medicaid. The Medicare related stimulus money doesn’t have any provisions on how you use the money you receive. It is paid out as a bonus on your Medicare reimbursement. So, you could use the EMR stimulus money that’s paid out through Medicare for anything you want, including imaging costs.

Medicaid on the other hand has to be for qualified expenses (or some similar term like that). I personally haven’t seen any details on what HHS will consider an expense that can qualify for the stimulus money. Plus, I won’t be surprised if each state has different definitions of what expenses will qualify under Medicaid. I have mixed feelings on whether imaging costs will be covered by the Medicaid section of the HITECH act. I guess I could see it going either way. If I’ve missed where this is specified, please let me know in the comments.

Check out the previous EMR and HIPAA EHR Stimulus Question and Answers and please send us other questions you might have in the comments.