VeinSpec

EMR INCENTIVES

ADOPTION OF EHR TECHNOLOGY

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R.1 , Section 4201) has added an incentive to eligible Medicare providers for adoption and meaningful use of Certified EHR Technology. The payments begin in the year 2011 in an amount up to $18,000, with continuing annual payments of $12,000, $8,000, $4,000 and $2,000 for years 2012 through 2015 respectively. A single professional could therefore receive up to a total of $44,000 for adopting an EHR early, and could risk actually having their Medicare payments reduced by up to 5% if they fail to use EHR's by the year 2015.

IRS SECTION 179 EXPENSE WRITE-OFF

Both the Tax Relief Act of 2010 as well as the Jobs Act of 2010 that passed in late 2010 affected Section 179 in a positive way for this 2012 tax year. The 2012 deduction limit after adjustment for inflation has increased to $139,000 (maximum allowance would have been only $25,000 prior to the new legislation). The Section 179 threshold for total equipment & software that can be purchased has increased to $560,000 (threshold would have been only $200,000 prior to the new legislation). The new law also allows 50% bonus depreciation on qualified assets placed in service during 2012. If these tax laws are not extended past the December 31, 2012 deadline, the deductions and limits will be drastically reduced for tax years 2013 and beyond.

e-PRESCRIBING

For 2009, eligible professionals will receive e-prescribing incentives in the amount of 2% of the total estimated allowed charges for professional services covered by Medicare Part B during each reporting period (one year). The incentive will remain 2% for the year 2010, will drop to 1% for years 2011 and 2012, and again to .5% for the year 2013.