Tennessee and Pennsylvania – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Medicaid programs in Tennessee and Pennsylvania will receive federal matching funds for state planning activities to implement the electronic health record incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Iowa was the first state to receive the matching funds; California, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, New York, Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands were the next seven states and territories to receive the funds.

How Will the Dollars Be Used? – Federal matching funds will be uses by the states for planning activities that include a comprehensive analysis to determine the status of health IT activities in the states. Information will be gathered on issues such as existing barriers to the use of EHRs, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments and the creation of state Medicaid health IT plans.