Health IT Funding Remains Flat Under Obama's Proposed Budget

Under President Obama's proposed fiscal year 2010 budget, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the health IT initiatives at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality would continue to receive funding at current levels. For the third consecutive year, the federal budget proposes allocating $61 million for ONC and $45 million for AHRQ's health IT initiatives. However, the budget proposal does not include "jump start" funds for ONC included in the economic stimulus law. The office is set to receive an estimated $432 million this year and $809 million in 2010 in jump start funding. The Federal Health Architecture program, which aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of government health IT programs, is slated to receive $8 million under Obama's budget, the same level as in FY 2009.