Medi-Cal Postpones Start Date for EHR Incentive Program Enrollment to December 20 December 13, 2011 EHR, Payment, Technology EHR, Electronic Health Record, health information technology, meaningful use, Medi-Cal 0 The California Department of Health Care Services pushed its enrollment in the electronic health record (EHR) system from December 15 to December 20, 2011, for individual providers. Physicians should know that this will not affect their overall incentive payments. Those who enroll in the program will be eligible for the same total incentive ($63,750) whether they enroll this year, or any year up to 2016. Enrollment in the program for hospitals and groups and clinics began as planned on October 3 and November 15, respectively. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, or the Stimulus Act), physicians are eligible for financial incentives for demonstrating “meaningful use” of an EHR system. Medi-Cal providers who meet certain patient volume thresholds will qualify for up to $63,750 paid out over six years, beginning as early as 2011 or as late as 2016. In the first year that a physician is enrolled in the incentive program, he or she can receive up to $21,250 for purchasing, implementing or upgrading an EHR system. Physicians will not have to demonstrate “meaningful use” until their second year in the program. Accessing these incentives will require a two-part enrollment. Physicians must first register with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at https://ehrincentives.cms.gov. They must then enroll in the Medi-Cal Incentive Program at http://medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov. Physicians qualify for incentives if: Medi-Cal patients make up at least 30 percent of their patient volume. They are a pediatrician with at least 20 percent Medi-Cal patient volume. (However, pediatricians with 20 to 30 percent Medi-Cal patient volume only qualify for two-thirds of the total incentive.) They practice in a federally qualified health center, rural health center or Indian health clinic and at least 30 percent of their patient volume is “needy individuals,” such as Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, sliding scale or uncompensated care. For more information on the Medi-Cal EHR Incentive Program, see http://medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov. Comments are closed.
