American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, H.R. 1. The Act aims to stimulate the economy through investments in infrastructure, unemployment benefits, transportation, education, and healthcare. Total funding included for health IT is as follows:

• $2 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)
• $20.819 billion in incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems to assist providers in adopting EHRs
• $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
• $2.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program
• $1.5 billion for construction, renovation, and equipment for health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration
• $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
• $85 million for health IT, including telehealth services, within the Indian Health Service
• $500 million for the Social Security Administration
• $50 million for information technology within the Veterans Benefits Administration
(Source: HIMSS)

For detailed information and analysis of this HIT stimulus visit the following URL:
http://www.himss.org/EconomicStimulus/