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HIT Stimulus Could Bring $3 Billion in New Funds to California

The California HealthCare Foundation
About the Author: 
<p>The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) is an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way healthcare is delivered and financed in California. By promoting innovations in care and broader access to information, CHCF’s goal is to ensure that all Californians can get the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford.</p>
Published date: 
April 1, 2009
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The federal stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama in February offers unprecedented opportunities to increase health information technology (HIT) adoption among California providers and facilitate the secure exchange of patient health information, according to a February 23, 2009, issue brief published by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF).

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, provides roughly $36 billion in outlays for health information exchange infrastructure and incentive payments to physician practices adopting electronic health records (EHRs), chronic disease management systems, and other technologies. In California, the stimulus funding could add up to more than $3 billion, according to the issue brief.

CHCF’s issue brief outlines necessary steps to take advantage of these provisions and makes specific recommendations to Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature to ensure that California successfully competes for and makes effective use of HITECH funds. The key recommendations include:

  • Appoint a Deputy Secretary of Health Information Technology, within the Health and Human Services Agency, to coordinate and drive health IT and health information exchange planning and implementation.
  • Appoint a nonprofit “state-designated entity” to apply for HIE implementation funding on behalf of the state.
  • Establish policies, procedures, and information systems required to support Medi-Cal incentive payments for adoption of EHRs by physicians, hospitals, community health centers, and others.
  • Actively engage with federal officials and policymakers to ensure California has a meaningful voice at the table during the regulatory process that will determine the HITECH Act’s specific funding mechanisms.
  • Appropriate funds in the amount required to match the federal funding authorized under the HITECH Act in order for California to take full advantage of the opportunities available through the Act.
  • Take steps to educate patients, consumers, and the public on existing health privacy safeguards and new protections intended to ensure the confidentiality and security of personal health information.

For the past 10 years, CHCF has worked to accelerate the adoption and effective use of new information technologies in healthcare, pushing for national data standards, interoperable systems, development of patient privacy protections, and promoting use of patient-centered and patient-controlled tools for self-management of chronic conditions. To access “An Unprecedented Opportunity: Using Federal Stimulus Funds to Advance Health IT in California,” visit CHCF.org.

Other CHCF Publications Accessible at http://www.CHCF.org

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