The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has given $6.9 million in federal matching funds to four states to underwrite their efforts to administer the federal health IT incentive plan among Medicaid providers in their states.
North Dakota, Hawaii, Ohio and Massachusetts were the latest group of states to receive the CMS funding after submitting strategic plans for supporting adoption of EHRs among Medicaid providers in their states.
CMS provides up to 90 percent federal matching funds to help state Medicaid offices manage the incentive payments under the HITECH Act, including auditing providers for compliance with the plan.
The funds will also be used by states to analyze the status of health IT within their borders, including barriers to the use of EHRs and provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments.
In the most recent round of funding, North Dakota will receive $226,000; Hawaii, $836,000; Ohio, $2.29 million; and Massachusetts, $3.56 million, Mann said.
Other states have already received their matching funds, including Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia, according to CMS.
EHRs make it easier for the many providers who may be treating a Medicaid patient to coordinate care and for patients to access the information they need to make decisions about their health care, said Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey and Certification at CMS.
