U.S. Sen. John Kerry is sponsoring the Medicaid Information Technology to Enhance Community Health Act, or the MITECH Act, to expand meaningful use incentives for safety-net clinics and providers that serve predominantly lower-income Americans but do not qualify for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, according to a Healthcare IT News report.
Under the bill, HHS would develop a methodology for qualified clinics to be eligible for meaningful use payments. According to the report, the bill has been endorsed by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the HIV Medicine Association, Mental Health America, the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and the Trust for America's Health.
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