LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, announced today that it has allocated $2 million through its Health I.T. Incentive Program to assist community clinics and physicians in high-membership solo and small group practices implement Electronic Health Records (EHRs) certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). With the on-the-ground assistance from HITEC-LA, the exclusive Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC) for Los Angeles County, eligible physicians may receive help at no-cost to adopt a certified EHR and meet meaningful use requirements, and as a result, qualify for L.A. Care’s Health I.T. incentive and other federal incentives.
L.A. Care’s Health I.T. Incentive Program is designed to help offset up-front costs of certified EHR adoption, as well as complement federal incentives available to many Medi-Cal physicians under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA law places strong emphasis on improving the nation’s health care through promoting provider use of certified EHRs. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, eligible health care professionals may receive up to $63,750 in federal incentives over six years.
Through L.A. Care’s Health I.T. Incentive Program, eligible high-membership primary care physicians in L.A. Care’s Medi-Cal network may receive up to an additional $5,000. L.A. Care’s incentive program awards $3,500 for demonstrated adoption or upgrade to a certified EHR system, and $1,500 for achievement of meaningful use Stage 1.
Participation in L.A. Care’s Health I.T. Incentive Program is designed to be simple. In order to receive payment, eligible physicians need to enroll with HITEC-LA, and submit a Health I.T. Incentive Claim Form to L.A. Care along with a copy of a signed contract with a certified EHR vendor. The incentive launched in late 2010, and is available through September 30, 2011.
“With the additional financial incentives from L.A. Care and the on-the-ground assistance of HITEC-LA, out of pocket costs for certified EHR implementation for eligible physicians will be even further reduced,” says Dr. Richard Seidman, Senior Medical Director at L.A. Care. “Our goal is to minimize the financial impact for our network physicians and provide customized support services to help practices achieve successful implementations of certified EHRs, reach meaningful use, and qualify for federal funding.”
“L.A. Care recognizes that this process can be challenging, costly, and demanding, especially for Medi-Cal physicians who receive the lowest Medicaid payment rates in the nation,” says Dr. Elaine Batchlor, Chief Medical Officer at L.A. Care. “But we believe that implementation of certified EHRs is necessary and their use will be an important driver of clinical quality, administrative efficiency, business performance, and patient satisfaction.”
One of the first clinics to receive L.A. Care’s Health IT Incentive Program payment was St. John's Well Child & Family Center. St. John's operates 11 sites, including five comprehensive community health centers and six school-based clinics in Downtown and South Central Los Angeles. St. John’s first payment of $17,500 was based on five qualifying physicians adopting a certified EHR system. A second payment of $7,500 will be awarded when St. John’s achieves meaningful use Stage 1.
HITEC-LA was founded in 2010 when L.A. Care was awarded a federal grant to establish the only REC for Los Angeles County. HITEC-LA is charged with helping all Los Angeles County doctors and health care practices, select, implement, and use certified EHRs in a meaningful way within four years. HITEC-LA helps providers assess their technology needs, as well as offers education, training, and on-site technical assistance. HITEC-LA will also help physicians qualify for the Health I.T. incentive.
L.A. Care’s new Health I.T. incentive is the latest generation of a program that was launched in 2007. Under this program, L.A. Care has awarded over $1.16 million to over 200 medical practices and over 370 physicians in Los Angeles County.
About HITEC-LA