MU Payments Yield $75M Payday for EHR Participants

The first round of payments rewarded providers who signed up in the first two weeks of the Medicare EHR incentive program and successfully attested to meeting the Stage One requirements for meaningful use, including complying with program requirements for a continuous 90-day reporting period.

The incentives were established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 to reward hospitals and physicians that use certified EHR technology in ways that improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of patient-centered care.

CMS officially released on Thursday information about the more than 300 hospitals and physicians that received the incentive payments. Award amounts were not included. The list includes:

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Mass.)
• Bender Medical Group (Ft. Collins, Colo.)
• El Paso Heart Center (El Paso, Texas)
• Hewitt Medical Group (Bakersfield, Calif.)
• Northshore University Health System (Evanston, Ill.)
• Regents of the University of California (Sacramento, Calif.)
• Wellmont Cardiology Services (Kingsport, Tenn.)