Medicaid mobilizes for meaningful use

As if they didn't have enough on their plates, state Medicaid offices are now digesting the final version of the meaningful use rules so they can be ready to manage and monitor the flow of incentive payments to their home Medicaid providers who qualify for HITECH Act health IT subsidies.

State Medicaid offices must have systems in place to begin verifying meaningful use performance and processing lump-sum checks by May 2011, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will officially open the program to providers who meet certain criteria for deploying electronic health record systems. In 2011, the criteria include the requirement that at least 30 percent of a medical practice be devoted to caring for Medicaid patients and that providers adopt a new EHR system or upgrade an existing one. In subsequent years, providers will be asked to meet stepped-up objectives, including a record of prescribing at least 40 percent of all their prescriptions electronically.