The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Often referred to as the Economic Stimulus Act, this legislation allocates $33 billion to Medicare and Medicaid incentives for physicians and hospitals who purchase and use Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. Bonus payments will only be made to "meaningful users" of qualified EHRs. To take maximum advantage of these bonus payments,physicians will need to be ready by calendar year 2011 and hospitals will need to be ready by FY2011 (beginning October 1, 2010).

Please review the following documents for more detail on the ARRA:

  Frequently Asked Questions: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of (ARRA) 2009

  EHR Medicare and Medicaid Incentives: Looking at the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009

  First Look at 'Meaningful Use'

  The MedicsDocAssistant EHR and Stimulus Act Compliance Guarantee