Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs for Medicaid Providers: How Are States Preparing?

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus bill. ARRA’s largest infrastructure investment is in health information technology (HIT), with approximately $44 billion earmarked for provider incentives to support adoption, implementation, and use of electronic health records (EHRs). Almost half of these funds will go to eligible Medicaid providers who adopt EHRs and use them in a meaningful way to improve the quality of care.

To understand how Medicaid agencies are responding to this opportunity, CHCS interviewed Medicaid leaders in six states. The goal was to learn whether states are planning to implement a Medicaid provider incentive program to support EHR adoption and, if so, to understand their initial strategies and concerns.

This policy brief summarizes feedback from those interviews, offering valuable insights to help Medicaid stakeholders and health care entities contribute to successful HIT or EHR expansion programs.