TennCare/Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Provider Incentive Program
Incentive Payments to Providers to Encourage the
Adoption & Use of Electronic Health Records
If you have already registered with the CMS Registration & Attestation System web site, you are ready to proceed with creating a User ID and Password to begin the attestation process. To begin, please click here.
If you have not registered with the CMS Registration & Attestation System web site, continue reading for more information.
Providers ready to proceed with attesting to Meaningful Use (MU) criteria after the first payment year, should proceed to the paragraph "New for 2012 - Meaningful Use (MU)."
The Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
The HITECH Act is a part of the American Re-Investment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009. [This is not to be confused with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010.] The purpose of the HITECH Act is to support the adoption and use of electronic health records (EHRs) by providing financial incentives under the Medicare & Medicaid programs to eligible professionals and hospitals. To qualify for an incentive payment, an eligible provider must implement and demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
The information provided here focuses on the TennCare Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Eligible Professionals (EPs) must choose between participating in either the Medicare or the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. An EP may change in which program he participates one time, but cannot receive incentive payments from both programs in the same year. Eligible Hospitals (EHs) can receive incentive payments from Medicare and Medicaid, if the hospital initially enrolls as a dual-eligible hospital. For more information about the EHR Incentive Program & Medicare, go to: http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/
Do you want to know if you are eligible to participate? CMS has set up a web site for an initial determination of whether a provider may be eligible to participate in the EHR Incentive Program. Go to the CMS Quick Survey, answer a few questions, and you will be told if you meet the initial eligibility criteria.
TennCare has also prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and responses) that may help you with additional information. Go to FAQ.
New for 2012 - Meaningful Use (MU)
Providers, both Eligible Professionals (EPs) and Eligible Hospitals (EHs), who attested for AIU in 2011, are now ready to begin attestation for Meaningful Use (MU) criteria. Because the MU requirements are different for EPs and EHs, please click on the appropriate button to review the criteria and resources.
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Information about attesting after the first payment year can be found by going to the page "Attestation After the First Payment Year."
Calendar Year - Fiscal Year - Payment Year
In 2010 and 2011, we talked about the first year of the EHR Incentive Program, Calendar Year, and Fiscal Year, which was a fairly simple discussion. Now that 2012 has begun, a little clarification is needed.
EPs & EHs who did not attest to AIU in 2011 and do so in 2012 will be in their first payment year. EPs & EHs who attested to AIU in 2011 will now be in their second payment year (meeting MU requirements). Providers in their first payment year will meet the same requirements as those who attested to AIU in 2011, but are not required to meet MU requirements in the first payment year. This is true regardless of which calendar year a provider enrolls in the EHR Incentive Program. Click here for more information about "years."
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