NEWS RELEASE
Thomas Suehs
Executive Commissioner
Date: May 16, 2011
Contact: Stephanie Goodman (512) 424-6951
Dallas Hospitals First in State to Get Medicaid Incentive Payments
Methodist, Children’s Earn Bonuses for Conversion to Electronic Health Records
AUSTIN – Two Dallas hospitals are the first in Texas to receive Medicaid incentive payments for making the transition to electronic health records. Methodist Health System of Dallas qualified for $3.7 million and Children’s Medical Center Dallas earned $3.8 million under the new program.
“This is one way that we can continue advances in patient care even when dollars are tight by using technology more effectively,” said Texas Medicaid Director Billy Millwee. “Having electronic records makes it much easier to ensure that doctors have all the information they need about a patient when making treatment decisions.”
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) made the first payments to Texas Medicaid providers late last week. Methodist Health System qualified for payments at three of its sites. In addition to the two Dallas hospitals, San Antonio physician Alexander Mora with Southwest Clinic received a $21,250 payment – the first awarded under the individual provider program. An additional 240 other doctors, dentists and other health care professionals also have qualified for bonuses totaling more than $5 million during the first cycle of payments.
Doctors and hospitals can qualify for the incentive payments by adopting electronic health record technology that meets federal standards and using that technology in ways that improve quality, safety and effectiveness of patient care. Individual doctors can receive up to $63,750 over a six-year period through the Medicaid incentive program, and hospitals can qualify for millions of dollars in payments over three years based on a funding formula. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also has a similar program for Medicare providers.
There are no restrictions on how hospitals and doctors can use the incentive payments. Individual providers must choose between the Medicaid and Medicare incentive programs, but hospitals can take part in both. Interested providers must first register at the federal level (https://ehrincentives.cms.gov/hitech/login.action) to start their registration process. Once registered at the federal level, the provider will receive instructions on how to enroll in the state program.
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