States can have more federal money for connecting Medicaid behavioral health providers to health information exchanges, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Wednesday.
"Today, we are announcing an initiative to bring interoperable technology to a broader universe of health care providers, including long-term care, behavioral health providers, substance abuse treatment centers, and other providers that have been slower to adopt technology," CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt and Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, national coordinator for Health Information Technology, said in a blog posted on the CMS website.
"This announcement will help to bridge an information-sharing gap in Medicaid by permitting states to request the 90% enhanced matching funds from CMS to connect a broader variety of Medicaid providers to a health information exchange than those providers who are eligible for such connections today. This additional funding will enhance the sustainability of health information exchanges and lead to increased connectivity among Medicaid providers."
In a letter to state Medicaid directors, Vikki Wacchino, director of CMS's Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, elaborated on the announcement, noting that previously, states could get a 90-10 match only if so-called Eligible Providers -- such as physical health providers -- were involved.
"We now explain that State costs of facilitating connections between Eligible Providers and other Medicaid providers ... can also be matched at the 90% matching rate, but only if State expenditures on these activities help Eligible Providers meet the Meaningful Use objectives," Wacchino wrote.
For example, an Eligible Provider might need to meet a Meaningful Use objective relating to the exchange of health information when moving patients to a nursing home or to home health care. Or a hospital might need to meet the "medication reconciliation" objective by comparing records with other providers to confirm that the medication information it has on an admitted patient is accurate, the letter explained.
"Subject to CMS prior approval, States may thus be able to claim [the] 90% ... match for expenditures related to connecting Eligible Providers to other Medicaid providers, including behavioral health providers, substance abuse treatment providers, long-term care providers (including nursing facilities), home health providers, pharmacies, laboratories, correctional health providers, emergency medical service providers, [and] public health providers."
The letter did not specify how much total money would be involved.
CMS is taking this step because "doctors and other clinicians need access to the right information at the right time in a manner they can use to make decisions that impact their patient's health," Slavitt and DeSalvo wrote in their blog post. "The free flow of information is hampered when not all doctors, facilities or other practice areas are able to make a complete circuit.
"Adding long-term care providers, behavioral health providers, and substance abuse treatment providers, for example, to statewide health information exchange systems will enable seamless sharing of a patients' health information between doctors or other clinicians when it's needed. This sharing helps create a more complete care team to collaborate on the best treatment plans and goals for Medicaid patients."