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1 AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES 2 3 4 Resolution: 227 5 (A-09) 6 7Introduced by: New York Delegation 8 9Subject: Information Technology and Stimulus Money 10 11Referred to: Reference Committee B 12 (Monica C. Wehby, MD, Chair) 13 14 15Whereas, President Obama’s economic stimulus package (American Reinvestment and 16Recovering Act), allocates $19.2 billion to reward Medicare and Medicaid providers who are 17utilizing certified health care IT, with incentives scheduled to take effect October 2011; and 18 19Whereas, Starting in 2011, physicians who utilize electronic health records (EHR) can earn 20$44,000 under the Medicare plan and $64,000 under the Medicaid plan over 5 years, with about 2170% of the payments coming in the first 2 years; and 22 23Whereas, The maximum payment for qualifying physicians under the stimulus package is 24$18,000 for the first year, $12,000 for the second year, $8,000 for the third year, $4,000 for the 25fourth year, and $2,000 for the fifth year; and 26 27Whereas, Physicians engaged in the Medicare PQRI program (Physician Quality Reporting 28Initiative) and electronic prescribing can earn an additional $6,000/$8,000 per year; and 29 30Whereas, Physicians who do not adopt an EHR system by 2015 will be penalized through a 31percentage decrease in Medicare reimbursement rates; and 32 33Whereas, Currently less than 30% of all physicians have implemented an EHR system, with this 34number dropping to only 9% when EHR is defined as a “fully operational” system, and only 35about 12% of physicians indicating that they use e-prescribing technology; and 36 37Whereas, To qualify for incentive payments, physicians need to demonstrate “meaningful” use 38of a certified EHR system (“meaningful use” is defined as – (1) using certified EHR technology 39that includes electronic prescribing; (2) using EHR technology that allows electronic exchange 40of health information); and 41 42Whereas, President Obama needs to work to educate physicians regarding the importance of 43embracing HIT, primarily solo and small group physician practices; and 44 45Whereas, The Congressional Budget Office predicts that almost 90% of physicians will begin 46using an EHR within the next few years, consequently creating a whole new “cottage industry” 47vying for physicians’ support and adoption; therefore be it

1 Resolution: 227 (A-09) 2 Page 2 3 4 1RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association caution health care policy makers that the 2Health Care Information Technology stimulus money, as outlined in the American Reinvestment 3and Recovering Act, will cause a sudden rise in the demand for health care IT products and 4services which may result in inflated prices for physicians (Directive to Take Action); and be it 5further 6 7RESOLVED, That our AMA advise physicians and health care policy makers that the ongoing 8maintenance of health care IT can be costly, and that this ongoing expense will fall to physicians 9long after the stimulus money is exhausted. (Directive to Take Action) 10 11Fiscal Note: Implement accordingly at estimated staff cost of $1,188 12 13Received: 05/14/09