Villagomez said CHC would be able to return the appropriation within two years once it gets its reimbursements through the incentive program.
“The Commonwealth Health Center is requesting an appropriation of $1.580 million to enable CHC to more fully implement the Electronic Health Record System of the Indian Health Service of the U.s. Department of Health and Human Services,” Villagomez told the Legislature.
“CHC is in need of these funds to completely implement the initial Stage 1 requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for ‘Meaningful Use’ in accordance with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” he added.
According to Villagomez, states and territories are encouraged under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, to implement the Electronic Health Record systems to enable easy exchange of patient information and better serve patients.
If the EHRs are successfully established, ARRA provides incentives for the health care provider like CHC.
“If CHC meets the ‘Meaningful Use’ requirements for 3 months, then, CHC will be able to receive reimbursements by December 2011. CHC qualifies as an ‘acute’ hospital. As such, CHC will qualify for four years of Medicaid incentives,” said Villagomez.
For the first year, the incentive is pegged at $2 million; $1.5 million is additionally set for the second year; $1 million on the third year; and $500,000 on the fourth year.
“In addition, CHC will receive a $200 per patient ‘discharge’ amount for discharges between 1,150 and 23,000. CHC plans to fund the continued development to meet the State 2 and Stage 3 requirements through the incentives provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CHC would also return the original appropriation to the CNMI government within 2 years,” Villagomez said.
