Electronic Health Record Incentives In The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

February 24, 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "ARRA") was signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009. The ARRA includes a variety of provisions intended to assist in the development of a nationwide health information technology (“HIT”) infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information. In that regard, the ARRA includes various grants and other assistance, such as grants to states for the expansion of the electronic movement and use of health information, and grants to institutions of higher education to establish or expand medical health informatics education programs. The ARRA also provides $19 billion in incentives for the "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records ("EHR") technology, utilizing both bonuses and penalties under Medicare and Medicaid.

We have created a comprehensive summary of incentives and penalties in the ARRA relating to EHRs, and the grants and other assistance for HIT adoption. The summary is available below. If you have any questions regarding the summary, please contact your regular Sonnenschein attorney.

Click Here to Read the Summary

These materials should not be considered as, or as a substitute for, legal advice and they are not intended to nor do they create an attorney-client relationship. Because the materials included here are general, they may not apply to your individual legal or factual circumstances. You should not take (or refrain from taking) any action based on the information you obtain from this document without first obtaining professional counsel and you should not send us confidential information without first speaking to one of our attorneys and receiving explicit authorization to do so.

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