Stimulus Incentive Information Center

Waiting Room Solutions American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Medicare Medicaid Stimulus Incentive

ARRA 2009

Qualify for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Stimulus Incentive

The Waiting Room Solutions Sales and Development teams are actively working to capture the rapidly evolving government requirements for "meaningful use," so that WRS providers will reap every financial and technological benefit from The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (ARRA). The Waiting Room Solutions Team will guide you in learning what you need to know about the stimulus bill and how your practice can benefit. WRS qualifications include

• CCHIT-certified EHR
• Automated PQRI reporting to Medicare, Medicaid and Commercial Carriers
• Meets and/or exceeds HHS "Meaningful Use" Matrix Requirements

Background of ARRA EHR Incentives:

• A new act signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 includes $20 billion in incentives for medical professionals who provide Medicare or Medicaid services and use electronic medical records. But act fast: Doing so could get you as much as $44,000, while late adaptors will have their fee schedules reduced.
• Medical professionals who implement electronic health records (EHR) are eligible to receive as much as $44,000 in incentives per professional, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
• The ARRA—which is intended to stimulate the economy through spending on infrastructure, education, and health care, to name just a few areas—includes more than $20 billion to aid the development of a robust IT systems in the health care sector.

Who is Eligible?

• Medicare and Medicaid providers are eligible for incentives. There are two incentive programs: one for Medicare providers, and one for Medicaid providers. If you provide both Medicare and Medicaid services, you must choose one of the incentive programs based on your qualifications and the benefits provided. The following information describes both programs:

Medicare

• Incentives start in 2011
• Available to non-hospital providers caring for Medicare patients
• Providers receive up to $44K, over a five-year period
• Providers must bill 125% of the total incentive received over the five-year period
• Must prove "meaningful use"* of an EHR
• Providers will be penalized if they have not adopted an EHR by January 1, 2015
• Using Medicare, the provider is eligible for incentives up to $44,000 (see Table 1) over five years. In addition to this, the rural health physicians are eligible for a 25% increase over and above the base incentive and up to $55,000.

Medicaid

• Incentives start in 2011
• Available to non-hospital based providers
• Incentives range to $65K over a five-year period
• Pediatricians patients must be made up of 20% Medicaid
• All other providers patients must be made up of 30% Medicaid
• Startup incentive up to $25,000 in state loan funds available (first year) toward the purchase a certified EHR
• After receiving startup funds, providers who can prove "meaningful use"* can receive up to $10,000 annually for an additional four years
• No penalties have been defined by Medicaid for lack of adoption

If you meet these requirements, you will receive up to 85% of what the government deems are “net average allowable costs,” according to the schedule Table 2. While it is unclear at this time what net average allowable costs are, it is widely believed that the maximum total payment over five years could be $64,000. We cannot verify this information at this time, however and believe $44,000 is the amount all practices should base their decisions on.