Nearly $10.7 billion in meaningful use incentive payments has been distributed to more than 190,000 hospitals and eligible professionals through the end of December 2012, according to the latest report from CMS, Modern Healthcarereports.
Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Details of Report
According to the most recent data, both the total incentive payments distributed and the number of paid providers increased substantially from CMS’ November 2012 totals. Total payments increased by 15% from $9.3 billion in November 2012, while the number of paid providers — including those in Medicare Advantage Plans — rose by 7.7% from 176,561 in November 2012.
The report also found that:
4,224 hospitals are registered for the incentive programs under Medicare, Medicaid or both, up by 1% from 4,193 in November 2012; and
350,844 physicians and other eligible professionals are registered under either Medicare or Medicaid, an increase of 4.5% from the 335,879 registered in November 2012 (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 1/25).
