ECONOMIC STIMULUS
On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The act represents a significant investment in our country's future in the face of an economic crisis. According to the White House the ARRA money is distributed to the following categories:
$288 billion - Tax Relief
$144 billion - State and Local Fiscal Relief
$111 billion - Infrastructure and Science
$81 billion - Protecting the Vulnerable
$59 billion - Health Care
$53 billion - Education and Training
$43 billion - Energy
$8 billion - Other
Governor John Lynch issued an Executive Order creating an
Office of Economic Stimulus. The office was created to
"...ensure that New Hampshire and its citizens receive
maximum benefits from any federal economic stimulus package,
and that those funds are used to create jobs and protect
essential services here in New Hampshire." Bud Fitch is the
director of that office.
NHHA will share information from the Office of Economic
Stimulus with its members and other interested health care
colleagues on developments that affect hospitals and health
care in New Hampshire. Watch this page for updates.
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August 20, 2009
Vice President Joe Biden today
announced $1.2 billion in American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act grants to help hospitals and other health
care providers become meaningful users of electronic health
records. The grants include $598 million to establish an
estimated 70 regional centers to help primary care providers
achieve meaningful use of certified EHRs, and $564 million
to help states exchange electronic health information
through the meaningful use of EHRs.
“This is the first significant flow of ARRA funds for health
IT, and importantly, begins the process of providing the
kind of support many health care providers will need as they
implement information technology,” said Rod Piechowski, AHA
senior associate director for policy.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is expected to
draft a proposed rule defining “meaningful use,” which will
determine which hospitals and physicians are eligible for
more than $17 billion in health IT funding under the ARRA’s
HITECH provisions.
July 1, 2009
The First Lady recently announced the release of more
than $850 million of Recovery Act grants to assist more than
1,500 Community Health Centers around the country with much
needed capital improvements.
New Hampshire's CHCs have received $7 million of this
funding.
May 21, 2009
New Hampshire’s hospitals are dedicated to safeguarding
the privacy of their patients’ medical information, and the
NHHA and its members support the efforts of the Dept. of
Health and Human Services to create a data breach
notification safe harbor. The NHHA generally endorses the
proposed standards that will be used to identify “unsecured
health information” that is subject to Health Information
Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)’s
breach notification provisions.
However, in a
letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, we offer some
suggestions for further improvements in the Guidance to
ensure it effectively serves its purpose with respect to the
breach notification requirements under HITECH as well as
recommendations about the breach notification provisions
generally. Specifically, we urge HHS to:
- Include the limited data set, as specified in the Privacy
Rule, as a methodology that puts data within the safe harbor
from breach notification;
- Work with FDA to address the protection of ePHI collected
by, stored on, and/or transmitted by medical devices;
- Explicitly provide that encrypting backup media with
mechanisms substantially similar to those contained in NIST
Special Publication 800-111 is an approved encryption
mechanism for purposes of the breach notification
requirements;
- Provide guidance that directly addresses the array of
secure mechanisms available for the transmission of ePHI via
email as well as guidance on which methods of redaction
covered entities and their business associates may use to
appropriately secure PHI, especially paper PHI; and
- Refrain from specifying which off-the-shelf products meets
the encryption standards
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March 24, 2009
Hospital representatives are invited to attend an
informational meeting on April 7, 2009 about the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This
event is designed to acquaint businesses, municipalities,
schools, and non-profit organizations with ARRA, and to
provide information on where to find detailed information on
the 80 or so ARRA funded programs that are expected to
benefit New Hampshire.
The conference is scheduled from 1:00-4:00pm. The event will
also be available via webcast and seven simulcast sites
around the state. Registration is required. More details and
registration information are available on the NH Office of
Economic Recovery
web site.
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March 13, 2009
Fact sheets have been added to the state's web site. There
are nine topic areas, many of which may pertain directly or
indirectly to hospitals. Click the links below to read the
relevant documents on issues that hospitals should keep an
eye on:
Broadband Programs
Distance Learning, Telemedicine and Broadband Program
Business and Community Programs
Rural Businesses
Education Related Programs
Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research
Employment and Nutrition
Worker Training and Placement in High Growth and Emerging
Industry Sectors
Medicaid to the Schools FMAP
FMAP related to Increases in State Unemployment Rate
Health Related programs
FMAP
Prevention and Wellness Fund - Health Associated Infections
Community Health Centers
Health Information Technology
SCHIP
Housing, Buildings and Facilities Programs
Rural Community Facilities
Academic Research Facilities Modernization
Community Planning Development Block Grant
