On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law, H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).   The bill includes $787 billion in the form of new spending and tax cuts.  Among the many provisions in the bill is a significant investment in health, including $2 billion in direct funds to Section 330-funded health centers. 

One portion of ARRA is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. HITECH has two main pots of funding: Entitlement Funds, which includes $33 billion in Medicaid/Medicare Payment Incentives for EHRs; and Appropriated Funds, which includes $2 billion for grants and programs, one of which is HIE planning and development.

• Electronic Health Records
• Health Information Exchange

Links

• NACHC Stimulus Hub
• Department of Health & Human Services Recovery Website
• Increased Demand for Services Grants By State
• Reporting Requirements for IDS Funding
• California Economic Recovery Portal
• ARRA Funding- California

Publications

CPCA

• FAQs: LECs and REC
• FAQs: Medicaid EHR Incentive Funding
• EHR Meaningful Use Critiera- Questions
• CalREC FAQs- October 29
• HIT Timeline
• Meaningful Use Comments to NACHC
• Comments on CalPSAB HIE Consent Recommendation
• HIE Governance Entity Letter
• RFI- Potential Health Information Exchange Governance Entity
• Comments RE: RFI- Potential Health Information Exchange Governance Entity
• Comments on Meaningful Use
• Comments on Regional Extension Centers
• White Paper: What Community Clinics and Health Centers Need for Successful HIE in California

California Safety Net Coalition

• Comments on State HIT/E Strategic Plan
• HIE Governance Entity Letter
• White Paper: What California's Safety Net Providers Need for Successful Health Information Exchange

CHCF Issue Brief

• The Impact of Federal Stimulus Funds on Oral Health Services in California
• An Unprecedented Opportunity: Using Federal Stimulus Funds to Advance HIT in California
• The Impact of Federal Stimulus Funds on Community Health Centers in California

Community Clinic Initiative

• Health Information Technology Resources for Community Clinics

State Government

• HIT/HIE Strategic Plan

Federal Government

• FOA- Regional Extension Center
• FOA- Health Information Exchange
• Second iteration of meaningful use matrix

HIT & FEDERAL STIMULUS

The following newsletter will be sent weekly, and include the latest information on health information technology and the federal stimulus funding.

Issues:

• August 10, 2009
• August 17, 2009
• August 25, 2009
• September 3, 2009
• September 14, 2009
• September 28, 2009
• October 7, 2009
• October 22, 2009
• November 3, 2009

If you have any questions/comments about the content of the newsletter please direct your inquiry to Andie Martinez, Associate Director of Policy at amartinez@cpca.org.