Health IT incentives in stimulus could benefit web-based vendors

Right now, no one's sure what will happen with the giant economic stimulus bill working its way through Capitol Hill. But if the version approved by the House survives, the promised health IT investment could create some winners and losers in the health IT vendor world. Specifically, observers say, new federal health IT spending could benefit vendors offering the application service provider model over traditional enterprise software vendors.

As things stand, federal authorities would dole out the $20 billion for health IT over time rather than offering lump-sum up-front payments. This gives providers an incentive to implement ASP-model products, which typically involve monthly fees rather than a large up-front cash outlay.

Though the Senate is still marking up the bill, ASP-based health IT vendors MedAssets and Athenahealth have already seen their stock prices rise, as investors believe they'll get a significant boost if the health IT stimulus provision passes as is.

To learn more about this possibility:
- read this iHealthBeat piece

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