Health providers already raking in millions in HIT incentive funds

News outlets are detailing the incentive payments health care providers in Arizona and Kansas have received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for instituting standardized electronic health records.

Arizona Republic: Incentives Net Ariz. Health Care Providers $114M
Arizona health care providers have received $114.3 million in payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive programs. CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said Tuesday that 1,704 health-care providers in Arizona received payments. The federal program has paid more than $5.7 billion to more than 110,000 health-care professional and more than 2,400 hospitals nationwide (Alltucker, 6/19).

Kansas Health Policy Institute: Kansas HIT Incentives Total $71.7 Million
More than $71.7 million in combined Medicaid and Medicare incentives has been awarded to 769 Kansas doctors and 54 hospitals for implementing electronic health record systems since the program began in 2011 through May 2012, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials announced today. The incentive payments were made available by the federal economic stimulus law passed in 2009 for health care providers whose electronic health record systems meet certain federal standards. Hospitals may apply for both the Medicaid and the Medicare incentives. Physicians must choose which program to apply for and then may only switch programs once (6/19).