CMS: $2.5B in Meaningful Use Payments Distributed So Far

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

CMS officials recently announced that $2.5 billion in meaningful use incentive payments had been distributed as of December 2011,

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments. Officials made the announcement on Tuesday during a meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee.

Details of the Announcement

CMS officials noted that as of December 2011:

• $1.38 billion had been paid out under the Medicare meaningful use incentive program; and
• $1.15 billion had been paid out under the Medicaid meaningful use incentive program.

Robert Tagalicod -- director of CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services -- said the final payout totals could be higher because eligible professionals can wait until as late as February 2012 to attest to meaningful use for the 2011 calendar year (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 1/10).

Robert Anthony -- a specialist in CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services -- said that just during the month of December 2011:

• The Medicare program distributed $464.7 million in incentive payments to 4,997 eligible health care providers and 193 eligible hospitals; and
• States distributed $229.4 million in Medicaid incentive payments to 2,794 eligible health care providers and 230 eligible hospitals.

Jessica Kahn, technical director for health IT at CMS, said that 41 states launched Medicaid meaningful use programs in 2011, but only 33 have started distributing incentive payments. Kahn added that in January 2012, Colorado and Kansas launched Medicaid meaningful use programs, bringing the total number of states with programs in place to 43.

Officials Post Meaningful Use Data Online

“The fact that [Tavenner] mentioned going through a rulemaking process implies to us that this will take a long time,” Wendy Whittington, MD, CMO of Anthelio Healthcare Solutions, said. “A short delay would be much more tolerable than a long one.” If HHS has a tack for fast-tracking the rulemaking process for ICD-10, thus far it has not explained that. But if the agency intends only to change the compliance deadline then perhaps there is a way to abridge that cycle.