Stories about the economic stimulus package dominated the news in health care this week. A sizable portion of the package's total $787 billion will be directed at health care, but the long-term effects on the financial health of providers remain uncertain.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) “strongly urged” passage of the package in a statement released on Friday, Feb. 13, the day that the bill was voted on in the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to the AHA, the package “provides immediate relief to help shore up our fragile healthcare system, and, at the same time, lays the foundation for more comprehensive efforts to make significant improvements and reforms to health care.” The American Medical Association similarly applauded the legislation’s expansion of Medicaid and COBRA funding as “a necessary stop-gap measure” and supported provisions promoting the adoption of healthcare IT and “independent clinical effectiveness research.”
An analysis by Moody’s of the bill’s economic impact on the not-for-profit hospital sector, reported in this week’s HFMA News, was a bit less sanguine. It sees some short-term benefits, particularly to urban hospitals with substantial Medicaid populations. In the long term, however, Moody’s expects the effects to be minimal, noting that many challenges facing the industry are likely to outlast the main two-year spending window for the stimulus package.
Healthcare providers should take note of stimulus package incentives and penalties related to adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). Both hospitals and physicians will qualify for Medicare incentives if they begin using EHRs before 2015. In 2015 and beyond, however, providers will face Medicare payment penalties if they are not “meaningful users” of EHRs. The Waller Lansden law firm offers a good online summary of the law’s EHR provisions.
