Carson City, NV – The Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP) is pleased to announce the launch of the Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program for Nevada providers. Nevada Medicaid, together with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is in the process of implementing the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) HITECH law, and provides incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals (EHs), and critical access hospitals (CAHs) as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Recent estimates indicate that up to $13,567,957 may be distributed to eligible Nevada physicians and $38,223,039 to eligible Nevada hospitals in the next two years.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted as part of the 2009 ARRA to expand the role of states in fostering health information exchange and adoption of electronic health records. The HITECH Act sets forth a plan for advancing the meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) to improve quality of care through the adoption of certified electronic health records (EHRs) and the facilitation of health information exchange (HIE). The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for leading the state’s HIT and HIE efforts. Please visit http://dhhs.nv.gov/HIT.htm for more information.
HITECH also supports the creation of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers. Regional Extension Centers (RECs) will support physician practices in adopting EHR systems and using their current systems to achieve Meaningful Use and obtain incentive payments. HealthInsight is the REC in Nevada
Nevada eligible providers can now begin their registration process with CMS. Information regarding eligibility, registration and participation guidelines can be found on the DHCFP website at https://dhcfp.nv.gov/
DHCFP has contracted with a vendor, CGI, for the incentive program and can assist providers through their attestation and eligibility verification. Once registered, providers can contact the CGI Business Service Center at (888) 639-3452 or email them at [email protected] for questions regarding the program.