VT funds EMR adoption with health plan tax

In a move that may be the first of its kind in the country, Vermont legislators have created a trust--funded by a quarterly tax on health plans--that will provide support for healthcare providers who want to implement EMRs. The fund will also support the further development of a statewide HIE and kickoff of a new medical home project. Over the next five years, the fund is expected to help physicians boost EMR use from 13 percent to 50 percent.

Health plans, which will be required to submit their first payment on October 1, will choose between paying two-tenths of a percent on all healthcare of the previous quarter's claims for their Vermont members, or a fee based on proportion of last year's overall claims. All told, this should raise $32 million over the next seven years, state officials project.

Leaders of Vermont Information Technology Leaders, the non-profit public-private partnership that runs the state's HIE, will manage the trust. Physicians will be able to apply to VITL or state government to get funding. State leaders are particularly focused on getting funding to about 300 independent physicians who aren't affiliated with a hospital or large group practice and tend to get lower reimbursements.

To learn more about the fund:
- read this Government Health IT News piece

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