The federal government has spent more than $19 billion over the last 3 years on bonuses to health care providers and hospitals to jump-start the use of electronic health records, according to figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The money, which was paid out as part of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs, went to physicians and other health care providers, hospitals, and Medicare Advantage organizations starting in 2011. Under the program, physicians can earn up to $44,000 over 5 years through Medicare or $63,750 over 6 years through Medicaid.
©DWP/Fotolia.com
The federal government has spent more than $19 billion over the last 3 years on bonuses to health care providers and hospitals to jump-start the use of electronic health records, according to figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Since its launch in 2011 through the end of last year, more than 268,000 physicians have received incentive payments through the Medicare or Medicaid programs. In total, physicians took home more than $5.5 billion in bonuses over the first 3 years of the program.
But hospitals earned even more. About 4,400 hospitals earned more than $12.2 billion in EHR incentive payments from 2011 through 2013.
The government cut its biggest checks in the first 2 years of the program. And by May 2013, more than half of all physicians and other eligible providers had received bonuses through the program, according to the CMS.
In 2013 alone, more than 28,000 physicians received incentive payments through Medicare or Medicaid totaling more than $421 million.
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
On Twitter @maryellenny