The first payments to Kansas hospitals eligible under the Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program are scheduled to be made Thursday. Hutchinson Regional Medical Center is one of twenty-three eligible hospitals who are collectively receiving $10,433,183.05 for promoting and achieving widespread adoption of Health Information Technology such as EHR, which improves the coordination and delivery of health care services for patients.

This program offers payments to participating eligible hospitals, eligible providers and critical access hospitals. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Division of Health Care Finance is responsible for issuing these payments through funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Incentive payments will be paid to eligible hospitals over three years.

Hutchinson Regional Medical Center is expected to receive 301-thousand, 605-dollars. Others in the area include the Newton Medical Center who will receive over 288-thousand and Pratt Regional Medical Center at 197-thousand dollars.

But, the two biggest, as you would expect, are in the the bigger cities. Wesley Medical Center in Wichita will receive over 1.8-million dollars, while Stormont Vail Health Care in Topeka will receive over 1.4-million dollars.

Because the Kansas Medicaid program currently covers nearly 13.3 percent of the Kansas population, the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program plays a key role in supporting widespread HIT adoption in Kansas.