The Election and IT Funding

The next month could be the start of some big changes in healthcare IT. As public health professionals know, politics plays a major role in healthcare IT funding—and depending on which candidate is elected, things could continue down the same path or move in a new direction.

Healthcare IT funding saw a huge influx in funding in 2004 when President George W. Bush doubled the monies allocated for federal demonstration projects on healthcare. Former President Bush also recommended the adoption of EHRs within 10 years and created the sub-Cabinet position of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology—to make these goals a reality.

In 2009 President Obama signed the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”. This Act is estimated to top $800 Billion in stimulus spending over 10 years and has been the primary funding source for CMS’s EHR Meaningful Use reimbursements which have totaled over $7 billion to date.

So how could this change with a new administration and new representatives in Congress and the Senate?   View the Healthcare IT News slideshows “Health IT Held Hostage to Politics” for a review of the past eight years’ ups and downs in funding.