AMA endorses health IT tax credits

The AMA has officially come out in favor of having legislators create a full, refundable tax credit to help them pay for health IT investments. This week, delegates with the AMA approved a resolution along these lines, following on a recent survey in which 79 percent of responding physicians endorsed the idea of an EMR tax credit. (The AMA's proposal, however, apparently extends to other health IT investments as well.) AMA delegates are also asking the group to develop new contracting guidelines which would help physicians safely accept health IT donations from hospitals without running afoul of Stark laws. 

The real trick, I'd argue, will be how to pay for such a tax credit. While sentiment is running high in many legislatures--including the U.S. Congress--to see all physicians online with EMRs, there's no apparently consensus on how to pay the expenses that would be generated by such a scheme.

To learn more about the proposal:
- read this Healthcare Finance News article [1]

Related Articles:
Health IT bill stalled in Senate. Report [2]
Kick legislatures out of health IT. Editorial [3]
EMR incentives--or threats? Editorial [4]
Smaller practices still behind in IT adoption. Report [4]