Medicare EHR Incentive Payments to Be Issued

News Update from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

The First Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Payments Will Be Sent out the Week of May 19th

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce that incentive payments for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will be sent out the week of May 19th! Providers who have successfully attested to having met meaningful use, and who have met all the other program requirements, can expect to receive their 2011 incentive payments soon.

What Kind of Payment Can I Expect?
Eligible Professionals (EPs) participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program receive a payment based on 75 percent of their total Medicare allowed charges submitted no later than two months after the end of the 2011 calendar year. The maximum allowed charges used for a 2011 incentive payment is $24,000. This means that the maximum incentive payment an EP can receive for the first participation year is $18,000.

Please note that incentive payments will not be made to an EP until the EP meets the $24,000 threshold in allowed Medicare charges.

Incentive payments to eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.

How Are Payments Made?
Participants will receive their Medicare EHR Incentive Program payment the same way they receive payments for Medicare services, via electronic funds transfer or by paper check. Payments to Medicare providers will be made to the taxpayer identification number (TIN) selected during registration for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. For electronic transfers, CMS will deposit incentive payments in the first bank account on file and it will appear on the bank statement as "EHR Incentive Payment."

IMPORTANT: Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), carriers, and fiscal intermediaries will not be making these payments. CMS is working with a Payment File Development Contractor to make these payments. Please do not contact your MAC regarding EHR incentive payments.

Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Payments
Since January 2011, several states that started their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs have made payments to many EPs and eligible hospitals who have met the requirements for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. To date, over $83 million in Medicaid incentive payments have been issued to EPs and eligible hospitals participating in the EHR Incentive Program.

To view a checklist of how to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, look at the Path to Payment section of the EHR website.

Want More Information About the EHR Incentive Programs?
Make sure to visit the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs. 

Sixty-two Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the nation are prepared to offer customized, on-the-ground assistance for eligible professionals and hospitals registering for the CMS EHR Incentive Programs. To locate an REC near you, visit http://www.healthit.gov/rec.