Hospitals, Physicians and Meaningful Use: A Progress Report

Special Report
January 10, 2012


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a progress report on the number of healthcare providers successfully attesting for Meaningful Use (MU). During November 2011, the number of hospitals and physicians receiving CMS electronic health record (EHR) Incentive Program funds nearly doubled. As of November 30, 2011, over $920 million in Medicare incentive payments reached just over 10,500 providers nationwide.

To date, hospitals account for over 80% of total EHR incentives paid, averaging around $1.5 million to $1.8 million per payout. Eligible Professionals (EPs), representing independent and group practice physicians, average $18,000.


Among EPs receiving incentive payments, Family Practice, Internal Medicine and Cardiology specialties represent over half of those issued to date. Just three of the top 10 cities with the highest number of participating physicians represent metropolitan areas.

As of the last CMS update in September 2011, the top five states by number of payments issued included:

Physician Incentives - Top States              Hospital Incentives - Top States

1 - Illinois                                                       1 - Texas

2 - Ohio                                                         2 - Michigan

3 - Florida                                                      3 - Georgia

4 - New York                                                  4 - Illinois

5 - Pennsylvania                                            5 - Missouri

A review of the number of hospitals receiving incentive payments as a percentage of all hospitals by state places the following at the top of the list in terms of state-wide hospital participation:


Each of the above top five states has hospital payout rates of over 5%. More than 10% of Michigan and Hawaii hospitals are already receiving payments.

For a more comprehensive breakdown of these statistics, visit CMS.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms to view specific Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payment and registration data in report form.

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Editor's Note: Status indicators on Hospitals and Physicians that have been paid by the CMS Medicare EHR Incentive Program (per the most recent
September 2011 CMS release) are now included in Billian's HealthDATA Portal subscriptions.



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