GAO Analyzes Federal Health IT Incentives

Hospitals that received Medicaid incentive payments in 2011 for achieving meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) typically were nonprofit, independent acute-care facilities in Southern cities, according to a report released by the General Accounting Office.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act requires GAO to monitor the impact of its provisions, including whether certain types of providers are more likely to participate in the EHR incentive programs than others. One finding was that, at least in the early stages of the program, hospitals were more likely to participate in the Medicaid EHR incentive program than the Medicare incentive program. On the other hand, the median payment through Medicaid of $613,512 was less than half as much as the comparable Medicare payment. In total, 1,964 hospitals received $1.7 billion in Medicaid EHR incentive payments in 2011, ranging from $7,528 to $7.2 million, according to the report. About half of those hospitals received 80 percent of the distributed incentive payments. In addition, 45,962 providers – about one-third of those thought to be eligible -- received Medicaid incentive payments. Hospitals and other providers combined received $2.7 billion in payments for the year.