Live from the HIMSS Virtual Conference – Medicaid EHR Incentive Program

 Today, on the opening day of the HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo, I am moderating the education session entitled Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, and the speaker is Jessica P. Kahn, MPH, who serves as a Technical Director for Health IT at CMS in the Center for Medicaid.  This session – ES7 – begins in about 45 minutes at 1 p.m. CT.  

During her presentation Ms. Kahn will be discussing how states qualify to receive 90% federal matching funds for administering the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Included in her presentation is an overview of the Health Information Technology Planning Advance Planning Document (HIT PAPD), which is a plan of action that requests Federal matching funds and approval to accomplish the planning necessary for a state agency to determine the need for and plan the acquisition of  health IT equipment, services, or both.

Ms. Kahn will offer insight on the  State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP), a document that describes states’ current and future Health IT activities, as well as the path between, in support of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

Finally, the states have to submit a Health Information technology Implementation Advance Planning Document (HIT IAPD), which is a plan of action that requests federal matching funds and approval to acquire and implement the proposed SMHP services, equipment, or both.

The HIT PAPD, SMHP and HIT IAPD lay out the process states will use to implement and oversee the Medicaid EHR incentive program.  These documents also will help states to construct a health IT roadmap to develop the systems necessary to support providers in their adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

As states begin the process of developing their SMHPs, they also can begin to immediately receive the 90% federal matching funds to be used to support their initial EHR Incentive Program Planning activities, if the relevant Advance Planning Documents are approved.

For example, initial planning regarding the design and development of the anticipated SMHP may be eligible for the 90% federal matching funds as an expense related to the administration of the Medicaid incentive payments and, more broadly, for promoting health information exchange.

• States are required to submit these documents in order for CMS to approve receipt of the 90% federal match.
• Prior approval is required for the HIT PAPD and IAPD.
• The deliverable resulting for the HIT PAPD would be the SMHP. The SMHP would be reviewed and approved before implementation funds are authorized under the IAPD.
• The APD and SMHP process allows states to update their Advance Planning Documents and SMHP, when they anticipate changes in scope, cost, schedule, etc.
• This allows states to add additional tasks to the contract which they may have not thought of at the time the HIT PAPD was written, as they worked through the original tasks on the original submission.

Ms. Kahn will review how CMS engages in frequent outreach activities to educate the states on the Medicaid EHR incentive program and to gather feedback from the states about the program.

In addition to the timeframes and interdependencies she is discussing, Ms. Kahn also will expplain the intersections between ONC and Medicare and Medicaid’s EHR incentive program. 

Finally, listen to this session to learn more about the EHR Incentive Program Timeline because in  January 2011, registration for the EHR Incentive program begins.  

Share your comments or questions during the session…or comment on the HIMSS Blog.