Bipartisan legislation introduced at the Federal level calling for incentives for physicians and EHR

Reps. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) and Phil Gingrey (R-GA) have introduced a bipartisan bill designed to help physicians afford the high cost of adopting healthcare information technology. The bill, called the National Health Information Incentive Act, offers grants, loans and tax incentives to offset the cost of physicians implementing healthcare IT. Incentives include a tax depreciation incentive available to all physicians who want to buy healthcare IT up to $250,000. Grants and loans will be available to physician practices of fewer than 10 doctors. The bill also includes bonuses for physicians who report Medicare performance data.

To view a copy of the House version of the bill go to:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c110:./temp/~c110by551I