Foundation Aims To Help California in Quest for Health IT Funding

Because of California's budget deficit, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) is contributing to efforts to help the state qualify for federal economic stimulus funds for health IT projects. Sam Karp, vice president for programs at CHCF, estimates that California could receive about $3 billion in stimulus funds for health IT. CHCF is providing: $2 million in matching funds for the state to apply for federal funding to create a $10 million fund to extend loans for electronic health records to health care providers who then can receive Medicare and Medicaid incentives for using EHRs; and Matching funds for administrative costs of a program that will provide Medicaid incentive payments for providers that use EHRs.