EHR incentive payments near $10.7B: CMS

The federal government's electronic health-record incentive payment program has paid out nearly $10.7 billion to more than 190,000 hospitals, office-based physicians and other “eligible professionals” through December, according to the latest report from the CMS (PDF).

Both numbers climbed substantially in a month, with total payments up 15% from $9.3 billion in CMS' November totals, and paid providers, including those in Medicare Advantage plans, up 7.7% from 176,561 in November.

Some 4,224 hospitals are registered for the incentive programs offered under either Medicare, Medicaid or both, up nearly 1% from 4,193 in November; and 350,844 physicians and other eligible professionals are registered under either Medicare or Medicaid, up 4.5% from 335,879 in November.