On February 17 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law with a staggering total spending of $787 billion. The goals of this act are two folds:
- Save existing jobs and create new jobs.
- Stimulate the economy and invest in the long term needs of the country.
To achieve these goals, ARRA funds are allocated as follows:
- $288 billion for tax cuts and benefits. A few include:
o Extended unemployment benefits.
o COBRA benefits - Covers 65 percent of the premium for unemployed Americans.
- $224 billion in federal funds for education, health care and other entitlement programs.
- $275 billion for federal contracts, grants and loans.
Approximately, $30 billion of $224 billion, allocated for education, health care and entitlement programs, has been set aside for health care initiatives. These initiatives will promote:
- Information technology (IT) adoption.
- Health information exchange (HIE).
- Research and development.
- Standards development and
- Education and outreach.
These health care funds are further allocated to different programs as displayed in the following table. Some of these initiatives are managed by the states and others are managed directly by the federal government (health and human services).
Program Name | Available Fund |
Medicare payment incentives and penalties (Managed by: Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)) | $17.2 Billion |
National Telecom & Information Administration’s broadband technology opportunities program (Managed by: National Telecommunications and Information Administration) | $4.7 Billion |
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s distance learning, telemedicine, and broadband Program (Managed by: U.S. Department of Agriculture) | $2.5 Billion |
Discretionary funding through ONC (Managed by: ONC) | $2 Billion |
Grants toward construction of, renovation of, and equipment for health centers. (Managed by: HHS) | $1.5 Billion |
Comparative Effectiveness Research & Healthcare Research and Quality. (Managed by: National Institutes of Health and HHS) | $1.1 Billion |
Social Security Administration: health technology research and activities related to the adoption of technologies for disability claims. | $500 Million |
Indian Health Services: HIT, telehealth services and related infrastructure. (Managed by: Indian Health Services [Part of HHS]) | $85 Million |
Healthcare IT adoption for Veterans Affairs hospitals. (Managed by: Veterans Benefits Administration) | $50 Million |
Of these programs, the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health (HITECH) act consists $19.2 billion of total spending and includes the following programs - Medicare payment incentives and penalties and discretionary funding through ONC.
Due to HITECH act, some suggests that approximately 90 percent of the physicians adopt a comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) though it is questionable.
Await for more information on HITECH act and if it make sense operationally and financially for practices to adopt a EHR in a meaningful way.
P:S: The information provided here is collected to best of my knowledge. Programs and funding amounts may vary.
P:S: The information provided here is collected to best of my knowledge. Programs and funding amounts may vary.
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