Recovery Assistance for Physicians and Medical Practitioners

Table of Contents

Medicaid and Medicare Funded Health Information Technology

Recovery Funds

  • $14 billion nationwide

New York State's Share

  • To be determined

The Recovery Act established an incentive program for payment to eligible professionals and hospitals that adopt and become meaningful users of certified electronic health records. EHRs improve the quality of health care for the citizens of New York and make their care more efficient. The records allow many providers who may be treating a Medicaid patient to coordinate care. Additionally, EHRs make it easier for patients to access the information they need to make decisions about their health care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) launched the official website for the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. This website provides the most up-to-date, detailed information about the EHR incentive programs including "tip sheets", flowcharts, and presentations on eligibility, certification, "meaningful use," and registration.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a final rule to establish the permanent certification program for health information technology. Meaningful use of certified EHR technology is a core requirement for eligible health care providers to receive incentive payments.

The temporary certification program, established in June 2010, will continue in effect until it sunsets on December 31, 2011, or until such time as the processes for permanent certification are completed.

Features of the permanent certification program include:

  • Organizations must first be accredited in order to test and/or certify health information technology;
  • Certification bodies authorized by ONCHIT Authorized Certification Bodies or ONC-ACBs are required to conduct post-certification surveillance; and
  • ONC-ACBs are permitted to perform "gap certification".

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through its National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) will develop a laboratory accreditation program for organizations to be accredited to test health information technology.

CMS has made it easy to determine eligibility for the Medicare and/or Medicare incentives by offering an interactive "wizard".

On July 13, 2009, a regulation issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), defines the minimum requirements that providers must meet through their use of certified EHR technology in order to qualify for the payments. Another rule, issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), identified the standards and certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and hospitals may be assured that the systems they adopt are capable of performing the required functions.

On May 15, 2009 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its plan for Accelerating the Adoption of Health Information Technology.

On September 1, 2009, the Center for Medicaid and State Operations issued initial guidance on the States' administration of the incentive payments, outlining the time line and necessary steps that must occur before payments can be made.

On December 9, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that New York's Medicaid program will receive $5.91 million in federal matching funds for state planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program. The State's Planning Advance Planning Document (PDF, 73KB, 15pg.) describes the steps to be taken to implement incentives, such as:

  • Conduct stakeholder outreach
  • Conduct an "as-is" landscape assessment of HIT / HIE adoption and current initiatives in New York State
  • Develop a 5-year "to-be" vision for HIT / HIE activities in NY Medicaid
  • Develop a roadmap to achieve the NY Medicaid 5-year vision
  • Develop a strategy for implementation of the Medicaid EHR incentive program
  • Finalize a statewide patient-centered NY Medicaid HIT / HIE plan and submit to CMS for approval. The New York State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP) was submitted to CMS; however, it will not become official until CMS renders a formal approval.

On August 17, 2010, CMS distributed guidance to State Medicaid agencies detailing the requirements for administering the electronic health records (EHR) incentive program.

CMS AND ONC ANNOUNCED THAT BEGINNING JANUARY 3, 2011, REGISTRATION WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR ELIGIBLE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AND HOSPITALS THAT WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEDICARE EHR INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

NEW YORK STATE IS PLANNING TO BEGIN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2011.

For more information and guidance on meeting meaningful use criteria:

Other Information Technology to Foster Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Recovery Funds

  • $2 billion nationwide

New York State's Share

  • To be determined

National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) to oversee:

  • Privacy and Security, $24.285 million
  • National Institute of Standards & Technology, $20 million
  • Regional HIT Exchange, $300 million
  • Unspecified, $1.7 billion

On May 15, 2009 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its plan for Accelerating the Adoption of Health Information Technology.

In August, ONCHIT set aside $564 million to be distributed to states through cooperative agreements which will be used to advance the necessary governance, policies, technical services, business operations and funding mechanisms for health information exchange, building off existing efforts to advance regional and state level towards nationwide interoperability. New York State, through its designated entity the New York eHealth Collaborative, was awarded $22.3 million.

Also in August, ONCHIT also announced that certain not-for-profit organizations are eligible to compete for grants for the HIT Extension Program, Regional Centers Cooperative Agreement Program. On November 25, the original amount announced was increased by $42 million to a national total of $640 million and the award cycle was compressed from three application deadlines to two: preliminary applications for the first round were due September 8, 2009, and for the second, December 22, 2009. New York State, again through the auspices of NYeC, received $26.5 million. New York City, through the Fund for Public Health New York, received a grant of $21.7 million.

Also on November 25, 2009, ONCHIT announced that $70 million would be awarded competitively across the country to public and private institutions of higher education, targeted especially to community colleges, to develop and strengthen training programs for health information technology professionals.

  • Five awards are expected to be made, with a minimum amount of $6.2 million and a maximum of $21.15 million.
  • Applications were due January 22, 2010.

Another $10 million in Recovery funds has been set aside by ONCHIT for up to five institutions of higher education to develop materials for these programs: Information Technology Professionals in Health Care: Curriculum Development Centers. Columbia University received an award of $1.82 million on April 2, 2010.

On December 2, 2009, ONCHIT announced a new Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program. Awards were made on April 7 to twenty-one states, and to the National Indian Health Board, totaling over $267.6 million. New York State did not receive additional funds from this opportunity, having obtained ARRA funds for our regional extension centers in February 2010.

  • Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, special district and tribal governments; institutions of higher education and not-for-profit organizations. However, selected communities must already be national leaders in the advancement of health information technology and have advanced rates of electronic health record adoption and health information exchange.
  • ONCHIT expects to make 15 awards, totaling $220 million, with an award ceiling of $20 million and floor of $10 million. On May 4, 2010, the Western New York Clinical Information Exchange, Inc. was awarded over $16 million.
  • $15 million is set aside to provide technical assistance and to evaluate the grant recipients.
  • Applications were due February 1, 2010.

On December 17, 2009, three more HIT training related opportunities were announced, all with applications due January 25, 2010:

  • $6 million to be awarded to an institution of higher education, or a consortia of colleges and universities, to develop and initially administer a set of health information technology competency examinations. New York State did not receive this grant.
  • As one of nine universities across the country sharing $32 million, Columbia University received almost $3.8 million to expand or create programs leading to a baccalaureate degree, masters degree, or certificate of advanced studies in one or more of the following six targeted roles:
    • clinical / public health leader;
    • health information management and exchange specialist;
    • health information privacy and security specialist;
    • research and development scientist;
    • programmer and software engineer; and
    • health IT subspecialist.
  • $60 million, with a minimum award of $10 million and a maximum of $18 million, to be awarded to approximately four public or private institutions or other organizations with a research mission, to establish Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) to focus on where breakthrough advances are needed to address well-documented problems that have impeded adoption of health IT and to accelerate progress towards achieving nationwide meaningful use. New York State did not receive a SHARP grant.

On March 29, 2010, ONCHIT announced that it would supplement the current Regional Extension Center cooperative agreements to ensure the provision of service to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and to rural hospitals having fewer than 50 beds. Applications were due April 30, 2010. On September 10, ONCHIT awarded supplements totaling almost $20 million to 46 Centers for two year projects. NYeC received an additional $120,000. On December 28, 2010, ONCHIT announced a second supplement to bring the total available for each CAH and rural hospital to $18,000. Applications are due January 12, 2011, and NYeC is expected to receive another $60,000 to share with the ten qualifying sites in New York State.

On April 2, 2010, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded over $44.3 million to various contractors across the country for activities to support regional extension centers advance the use of electronic health records and the exchange of medical information between providers. Contracts include funds for:

On May 26, ONCHIT announced another round of funding for Beacon Communities to build and strengthen their health information technology infrastructure and exchange capabilities to demonstrate the vision of the future where hospitals, clinicians and patients are meaningful users of health IT, and together the community achieves measurable improvements in health care quality, safety, efficiency, and population health.

  • Cooperative agreements, over a 31 month performance period, will be awarded to two qualified non-profit organizations or government entities representing geographic health care communities. Selected communities must already be national leaders in the advancement of health IT, workflow redesign and care coordination, or quality monitoring and feedback. In addition, successful communities must have advanced rates of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and health information exchange (HIE), and the readiness to incorporate health IT to advance community-level care coordination and quality monitoring and feedback.
  • Total funding is $30,375,000, with a minimum award of $10 million, maximum of $18 million.
  • Eligible to apply are state, county, city and tribal governments; institutions of higher education; and nonprofit organizations.
  • Letters of intent are due June 9, and applications due June 28, 2010.

On January 27, 2011, ONCHIT announced another round of grants for the HIT Extension Program - Regional Centers:

  • $32 million was awarded nationally - with the Department of Health's designated entity, NYeC, receiving another $404,776, brining its total funding to almost $27 million.
  • NYC Reach also received supplemental funding of $179, 700, brining its total to almost $22 million.

Another round of supplemental funds targeted specifically to accelerate the conversion to electronic health records at critical access hospitals (CAHs) was awarded February 8, 2011. Again the grant to NYeC was increased, by $60,000.

On March 25, 2011, ONCHIT released a draft, revising Federal Health IT Strategic Plan that was legislated as part of ARRA, and originally issued in June 2008. In addition to the Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs for "meaningful use" of electronic health records, new goals incorporated into this draft Plan include:

  • Integrating HIT into the National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan that is required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA);
  • Fostering business models that create and support health information exchange entities;
  • Strengthening data protections to improve privacy and security;
  • Empowering individuals with access in order to move towards more patient-centered care; and
  • Building a "learning health system" to improve the knowledge about health care across populations.

NYS Recovery Act Handbook

Health Research – National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Recovery Funds

  • $10.4 billion nationwide
    • $1.8 billion is targeted for infrastructure, both at NIH buildings and other research facilities, for construction projects and equipment purchases,
    • $400 million for comparative effectiveness research (to AHRQ),
    • $8.2 billion for research ($7.4 billion to common fund for percentage formula distribution, and $.8 billion to Director's discretion, for example, Challenge Grants).

New York State's Share

  • NIH lists the approximately 1,950+ awards, totaling over $813 million, that have been made directly to research facilities in New York State on its web site. Specific details about the nature of the research and the amount of each award are also posted. These new ARRA-funded research projects have resulted in almost 100 new scientific healthcare related patents. In addition, NIH has granted New York State over $3 million in supplements to employ about 250 students and teachers in summer research projects.

The Recovery Act provides funds for health research to focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods and to improve the facilities to accommodate accelerated research.

On September 18, 2009, NIH announced a new program: Building Sustainable Community-Linked Infrastructure to Enable Health Science Research, or the Infrastructure Grants program.

  • $30 million to be awarded to support the development, expansion, or reconfiguration of infrastructure needed to facilitate collaboration between academic health centers and community-based organizations for health science research, to accelerate the pace, productivity, dissemination and implementation of health research.
  • Eligible applicants include: institutions of higher education; independent school districts; state, county, municipal and tribal governments; both for profit and non-profit businesses; and regional organizations.
  • NIH expects to award 30 or more grants. Applications were due December 11, 2009.

On September 25, AHRQ two new limited competitive grants for comparative effectiveness:

  • Clinical and Health Outcomes Initiative in Comparative Effectiveness (CHOICE) Grants
    • $100 million expected to be awarded to 10 large projects aimed at generating new knowledge to help inform decision making in priority areas of clinical care; specifically, arthritis and non-traumatic joint disorders; cancer; cardiovascular disease, including stroke and hypertension; dementia, including Alzheimer's disease; depression and other mental health disorders; developmental delays, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism; diabetes mellitus; functional limitations and disability; infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS; obesity; peptic ulcer disease and dyspepsia; pregnancy including pre-term birth; pulmonary disease/asthma; and substance abuse.
    • Eligibles include State, local and tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and faith-based and community-based organizations.
    • Letters of intent were due November 18; applications, December 16, 2009
    • NYU School of Medicine received a CHOICE grant.
  • Innovative Adaption and Dissemination of AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Research Products (iADAPT) Grants
    • $29.5 million to be awarded, with a grant ceiling of $1.5 million for innovative customizations or adaptations to the content presentation and/or delivery mechanisms to increase their use, implementation and impact among difficult-to-reach populations, including the elderly, those with limited English proficiency, limited education or insurance coverage, minority or immigrant status, health literacy problems, or other underserved populations.
    • Eligibles include State, county and tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and faith-based and community-based organizations.
    • Applications were due December 16, 2009.

AHRQ announced another two new comparative effectiveness research (CER) grant limited competition opportunities on December 8, 2009.

  • Prospective Outcome Systems using Patient-specific Electronic data to Compare Tests and Therapies (PROSPECT) projects to advance the quality, depth and scale of electronic data collection infrastructure and to enhance the nation's ability and capacity to systematically collect prospective data to inform CER on diagnostics, therapeutics, devices, behavioral interventions, and procedures used in clinical care, especially in populations who are typically under-represented in randomized control clinical trials or who have limited access to healthcare.
    • Eligible institutions include units of local, tribal, State and Federal government; institutions of higher education; and faith-based or community-based organizations.
    • $44 million is available over three years to be awarded to an estimated five recipients in amounts between $1.5 million and $3 million per year.
    • Letters of intent were due January 27 and final applications February 17, 2010.
    • Columbia University received a PROSPECT grant to study community-based CER in Washington Heights.
  • Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum for Comparative Effectiveness Research to engage large conference support to advance methods related to the development of the infrastructure and methodology for collecting and analyzing prospective data from electronic clinical databases. The planned EDM Forum will convene a series of meetings and workshops for the investigators from PROSPECT studies in order to identify the challenges and to propose realistic solutions to their resolution.
    • $4 million is expected to be awarded to one recipient over a maximum of three years.
    • Applications were due January 20, 2010.

On December 11, 2009, AHRQ announced two additional limited competitions, both with applications due January 20, 2010 to provide supervised study and research to cohorts of clinical and research doctorates:

On December 17, 2009, AHRQ announced a limited competitive opportunity, Comparative Effectiveness Research to Optimize Prevention and Healthcare Management for the Complex Patient, with $6 million available nationwide to be awarded to between 12 to 18 recipients.

  • Eligible applicants include Federal agencies and local, tribal and State units of government; institutions of higher education; and public or non-profit institutions such as faith-based or community-based organizations.
  • Letters of intent were due January 8, 2010 and full applications on January 20, 2010.
  • Applications must fall into one of three categories, with differing project budget limits and varying durations:
    • Epidemiologic descriptions based on secondary analysis of large data sets of specific chronic illnesses.
    • Analytic epidemiologic studies to assess benefits and harms of preventive and therapeutic interventions for patients who have multiple chronic co-morbid conditions.
    • Modeling studies.

On November 2, 2009, NIH announced a limited competitive grant opportunity: Administrative Supplements to Support Core Consolidation.

  • Approximately $15 million available nationwide to encourage such activities as:
    • Merging two core facilities from different departments or campuses into a single core;
    • Moving equipment to make it accessible to a much larger group of investigators;
    • Consolidating two different technologies; or
    • Combining core facilities at different institutions into a single facility.
  • Applications were due January 13, 2010 and may contain requests for no more than $500,000 for equipment, no more than $500,000 for alteration and renovation, and no more than $200,000 for direct costs such as personnel and supplies.

On December 28, 2009, NIH announced five new limited competition grant opportunities. Three of them, for a total of $30 million, target advancing comparative effectiveness research, generally, through clinical trials, pilot research and methodology development; one CER opportunity for $15 million is specifically for gastro-esophageal reflux disease, for eradication of MRSA and for dementia detection and management strategies. The fifth opportunity valued at $80 million is for Directors awards in five thematic areas, including genomics, global health and using science to advance health care reform. Eligible entities includes, State local and tribal units of government; institutions of higher education and independent school districts; for profit and small businesses and non-profit organizations; community-based and faith-based organizations and public housing authorities. Applications vary for each opportunity with due dates between February 26 and April 7, 2010.

On January 4, 2010, NIH announced that $3 million is available nationwide for a limited competitive grant opportunity: Research on Biosamples from Selected Diabetes Clinical Studies. Funds may be used to access and/or perform validated laboratory assays on non-renewable (non- DNA) samples generated by six specific NIDDK-funded clinical trials and studies. Between five and ten awards are expected to be made, with a maximum grant of $400,000 each for two year projects. Eligible entities includes, State local and tribal units of government; institutions of higher education and independent school districts; for profit and small businesses and non-profit organizations; community-based and faith-based organizations and public housing authorities. Applications were due March 11, 2010.

Also on January 4th, NIH advised current grant recipients with comparative effectiveness research projects that they are eligible to submit an application for administrative supplements, not to exceed $500,000, to develop, expand and/or increase CER training, education, and career development. Up to sixteen awards will be made with applications due March 1, 2010.

On January 5, 2010, NIH announced that current grant recipients may apply for supplemental administrative funds to provide an opportunity to introduce basic behavioral and social science research (b-BSSR) into their NIH-funded research projects. Between ten and twenty awards will be made, totaling $2 million nationwide. Applications were due February 18, 2010.

On January 11, 2010, NIH announced that $14 million would be available nationwide to support approximately five to ten grants of between $300,000 and $3 million per award for Accelerating the Adoption of Comparative Effectiveness Research Results by Providers and Patients. Applications were due March 11, 2010 and the following types of organizations are eligible:

  • Integrated health care systems
  • Integrated provider systems
  • Academic medical centers
  • Provider consortia
  • Community health center networks
  • Private payers
  • Other non-governmental organizations that administer or directly provide health care services
  • Organizations that serve health care consumers
  • University-based school (e.g. School of Public Policy or Public Health)
  • Private research institutes

On January 13, 2010, NIH announced a limited competitive grant opportunity of $25 million, the Institutional Comparative Effectiveness Research Mentored Career Development Award. Research-intensive institutions, including State and tribal governments, non-profit and for profit organizations (except small businesses) and colleges and universities can submit applications to support mentored career development in support of CER in an interdisciplinary environment catering to the needs of diverse populations of scholars including those with backgrounds in biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, pharmacology, medicine, and dentistry. Between eight and ten awards are expected, each limited to no more than $2.5 million for a project that lasts up to three years. Applications were due March 25, 2010.

On January 21, 2010, AHRQ announced two limited competitive grant opportunities for:

  • Enhanced Registries for Quality Improvement and Comparative Effectiveness Research.
    • Grants must be used to develop the infrastructure and improve the methodology for collecting prospective data from electronic clinical databases in order to generate new evidence on the comparative effectiveness of healthcare interventions.
    • City, county, State and tribal governments and institutions of higher education, along with eligible Federal agencies, can submit applications which were due March 29, 2010.
    • AHRQ expects to make two awards for projects not to exceed three years and annual budgets below $4 million.
  • Scalable Distributed Research Networks for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
    • Funds must be used to enhance the capability and capacity of electronic health networks designed for distributed research to conduct prospective, CER on outcomes of clinical interventions, including but not limited to diagnostics, therapeutics (drugs and biologics), medical devices, behavioral interventions and surgical procedures used in clinical care.
    • State, local and tribal governments, certain Federal agencies and public or non-profit institutions such as colleges and universities and community-based and faith-based organizations can submit applications which were due March 10, 2010.
    • AHRQ expects to make three awards for projects not to exceed three years and annual budgets below $2.77 million.

On January 26, 2010, NIH announced that institutions of higher education could compete for one-year grants to enhance their infrastructure and opportunities for training post-doctoral investigators to carry out innovative, multidisciplinary research in Global Health. Between six and ten awards are expected, capped at $250,000 for single institutions and $400,000 for consortia. Applications were due March 22, 2010. A second small grant for Global Health Research Involving Human Subjects in low- and middle-income countries was announced January 28, 2010. National funds total $650,000 with 12 - 13 grants expected to be awarded. In addition to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations are eligible with applications due March 22.

On February 2, NIH announced a new $7 million grant opportunity to Support Comparative Effectiveness Research for Eliminating Disparities (CERED). Eligibles are limited to only those institutions/organizations with active National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) grants for Exploratory Centers of Excellence and Comprehensive Centers of Excellence. NIH expects to make five awards for projects not to exceed two years with budgets capped at $1.4 million. Applications were due April 6, 2010. On September 15, 2010, two institutions in New York State received grants: Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Columbia University Health Sciences.

On February 5, AHRQ announced a $13 million limited competitive grant opportunity, Accelerating Implementation of Comparative Effectiveness Findings on Clinical and Delivery System Interventions by Leveraging AHRQ Networks. AHRQ wants to leverage three existing networks: Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION), Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNS) and Chartered Value Exchanges (CVE). However, other institutions, such as colleges, units of government and faith-based and community-based organizations are eligible to submit applications for three year grants with budgets not to exceed $5 million. Applications were due March 24, 2010.

On February 12, AHRQ announced a $7 million limited competitive grant opportunity, Comparative Effectiveness Delivery System Evaluation Grants.

  • Funds to be awarded to conduct rigorous comparative evaluations of alternative system designs, change strategies, and interventions that have already been implemented in healthcare and are likely to improve quality and other outcomes:
    • Gain scientific evidence about the capacity of system designs, strategies, and interventions to improve delivery-system performance on quality and other outcomes, such as efficiency, cost, access, disparity reduction, and population-based health.
    • Attain evidence about the applicability of designs, strategies, and interventions to a wide range of organizational and community settings.
    • Provide lessons for policy makers and delivery system decision makers about successful designs, strategies, and interventions and how best to promote or implement them.
  • AHRQ expects to make between six to ten awards for projects not to exceed three years, with annual budgets capped at $500,000.
  • Eligible applicants include: State, city, county and tribal units of government; certain Federal agencies; institutions of higher education; and faith-based and community-based organizations.
  • Applications due March 18, 2010.

Related to the above opportunity, on February 19, AHRQ announced a second limited competitive grant opportunities for Comparative Effectiveness Delivery Systems

  • Demonstration Grants - $12 million is available nationally to fund between three and six awards to conduct demonstrations of
    1. Broad strategies and/or specific interventions for improving care by redesigning care delivery, or
    2. Strategies and interventions for improving care by redesigning payment in order to achieve major improvements in care quality (including clinical outcomes and other dimensions), improve access to care, reduce disparities, or improve population-based measures of health outcomes.

Projects cannot exceed three years with annual budgets limited to between $500,000 and $1 million. The same entities are eligible as for the Delivery System Evaluation Grants; applications were due March 23, 2010.

Also on February 19, AHRQ announced a limited competitive grant opportunity to Enhance State Data Analysis Tracking Comparative Effectiveness Impact: Improved Clinical Content and Race Ethnicity Data which is open to organization seeking to either

  1. Enhance the clinical content of statewide, all-payer, hospital-based encounter-level data to support comparative effectiveness research, or
  2. Improve the reliability and validity of information in hospital-based encounter-level data related to race and ethnicity.

Between 7 and 15 awards totaling $10 million will be awarded for three year projects capped at $1.5 million. In addition to institutions of higher education, certain federal agencies, State, county, city and tribal units of government being eligible, so are state data organization (units of state government, state hospital association, or private not-for-profit entity which collects statewide hospital encounter data (inpatient, emergency department, and/or ambulatory surgery). Applications were due March 29, 2010.

On February 22, 2010, AHRQ posted a solicitation for proposals for a contract to provide the services for the project entitled "Citizen's Forum", which will seek to expand and systematize broad citizen and stakeholder engagement in AHRQ's comparative effectiveness research initiative. It is anticipated that a single contract will be awarded, with 3 base years and 2 option years (3 year contract with 2 one-year options).

On February 25, AHRQ posted a solicitation for proposals for a contract to establish a Horizon Scanning System in order to identify new and emerging issues for comparative effectiveness investments through the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program. This project provides a systematic process to identify and monitor healthcare technologies that are likely to have a high clinical, system and cost impact in the US. AHRQ awarded a contract on September 2, 2010 to ECRI Institute.

On March 5, 2010, NIH announced a limited competitive grant opportunity for a new program, the Director's Pathfinder Awards to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce.

  • Grants to be used to improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols and to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities and to encourage exceptionally creative individual scientists to develop highly innovative and possibly transforming approaches for promoting diversity within the biomedical research workforce.
  • $10 million available nationally, with an award ceiling of $2 million.
  • Certain federal agencies and State, county, city, special district and tribal units of government are eligible; as well as institutions of higher education and independent school districts, public housing authorities, and both non-profit and for profit businesses.
  • Applications were due May 4, 2010.

Also on March 5, HRSA announced it was accepting applications for a Maternal and Child Health Pediatric Network Program. One $3.5 million award was made to Columbia University in early September to support the infrastructure within an established pediatric applied research network to enable it to more readily conduct comparative effectiveness research in pediatric primary care sites.

On March 8, 2010, AHRQ issued a request for proposals for DEcIDE-2, Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness Research Network-2. Six to ten 36-month contracts will be awarded to provide a variety of research services and scientific products to support the generation of new scientific evidence on patient-centered outcomes of healthcare items and services, with a focus on comparative clinical effectiveness research. Typical task orders are expected to range between $250,000 and $1 million. Competition is not limited to existing DEcIDE research centers. Notices of intent were due April 12, and proposals by April 27, 2010.

On March 9, 2010, HRSA announced a limited competition grant opportunity, Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) Research Node Centers. CHARN cooperative agreements provide infrastructure support for consortia of safety net providers and academic institutions to develop the capacity to undertake community-based comparative effectiveness research. In early September, HRSA made six awards, totaling almost $13.5 million, to networks of federally-qualifed community health centers in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Oregon.

On March 10, 2010, NIH announced a limited competition grant opportunity, Impact of Decision-support Systems on the Dissemination and Adoption of Imaging-Related Comparative Effectiveness Findings. Two, two-year projects will be funded to study the impact of clinical decision support systems in disseminating and increasing the consideration of comparative effectiveness research findings.

  • Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses; institutions of higher education and independent school districts; regional and community-based and faith-based organizations; and State, county, city and tribal governments.
  • Letters of intent were due April 5, with full applications May 5, 2010.

On March 19, 2010, CDC announced a new grant, Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Infrastructure and Interoperability Support for the Public Health Laboratories. Only the 58 governmental entities currently having ELC cooperative agreement Only the 58 governmental entities currently having ELC cooperative agreements, including both New York State and New York City, are eligible to apply. CDC will award 25 grants between $100,000 and $600,000, to enable public health programs to exchange electronic data with clinical care for the more rapid advancement of meaningful use of EHRs. Applications were due April 21, 2010.

National Institute of Health(NIH) / National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) make awards directly to successful applicants, including public or private institutions of higher education.

New York Recovery Act Handbook

Workforce Training: US Department of Labor

Recovery Funds

  • $500 million allocated nationwide for adult employment
  • $250 million nationwide for competitive grants in high growth & emerging industries

New York State's Share

Funds from the US Department of Labor (USDOL) are awarded to the NYSDOL to support One-Stop employment centers and to distribute through local workforce training boards to community colleges and other training facilities. Funds are used to train adults and place them in jobs, including the health care sector.

A competitive grant opportunity for worker training and placement in health care jobs was announced by US DOL in late July. Public entities or private nonprofit entities, local Workforce Investment Boards and their One Stop Systems, Tribal organizations, education and training providers, labor organizations, health care providers, and faith-based and community organizations are eligible. Four awards were made to New York State to:

  • Fulton Montgomery Community College, $2,685,657
  • Hudson Valley Community College, $3,382,200
  • Workforce Investment Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties, $2,700,096
  • University Behavioral Associates, Inc. $5,000,000

On April 7, 2010, US DOL Employment and Training Administration announced that it will make two categorical competitive grants, of $6.6 million each, for virtual service-delivery models to promote career opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Eligible applicants for the Healthcare Virtual Career Platform category include private nonprofit organizations with a nationally-focused mission. For the category "Enhancing the Ability of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations to Deliver Virtual Career Exploration Services, Including Healthcare Careers," private national nonprofit organizations that deliver services through networks of local affiliates, coalition members or other established partners, including nonprofit operators of One-Stop Career Centers are eligible. Applications were due May 7, 2010.

On June 16, US DOL Employment and Training Administration announced $14.7 million in healthcare career grants:

  • Health Care Virtual Career Platform - $6.6 million awarded to the American Association of Community Colleges, a national nonprofit organization, which will work closely with its partners to provide web-based services designed to explore health care careers and employment and training options in the health care sector.
  • Capacity-Building Grants - $8.1 million awarded to three national community- and faith-based organizations, including almost $3 million to the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services that will conduct training in NYS, to:
    • Ensure that appropriate computer technology equipment is available;
    • Establish adequate capacity and speed of Internet connections at all affiliate locations;
    • Provide all partners with necessary software tools for pre-training and training activities, including computer literacy, career exploration and career development; and
    • Implement training for career coaches and provide staffing resources at the local level

New York Recovery Act Handbook

Workforce Training: US Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Recovery Funds

  • $500 million nationwide

New York State's Share

  • To date, $.5 million; more is expected later this year.

The Recovery Act provides supplemental funding for HRSA Financial Aid for Health Professions Students & Practitioners programs, such as National Health Service Corps and the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program.

In exchange for their grants or loan repayments, recipients are required to serve a minimum of two years in a community that has a shortage of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

HRSA announced a new program, SEARCH, Student / Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health, to strengthen systems of care in underserved communities through the development of links between community-based sites and academic institutions. Proposals were due July 20, 2009.

Also, HRSA has announced how it will target and distribute $200 million of the available funds:

  • $80.2 million for scholarships, loans and loan repayment awards to students, health professionals and faculty:
    • $39 million for nurses and nurse faculty,
    • $40 million to disadvantaged students in a wide range of professions, and
    • $1.2 million to health professions faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • $50 million in grants to health professional training programs to purchase equipment needed to expand programs and improve the quality of the training.
  • $47.6 million to support primary care training programs - for example for residents, medical students, physician assistants and dentists - many of whom will practice in underserved areas.
  • $10.5 million to strengthen the public health workforce by supporting traineeships to increase the number of individuals trained in preventive medicine and dental public health residencies.
  • $10.2 million to increase diversity of the health professional workforce.
  • $1.5 million to support the efforts of State professional licensing boards in reducing barriers to telemedicine.

On July 2, 2010, HRSA announced the award of $27 million in ARRA grants to schools for scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds with financial need, many underrepresented minorities. Funds also provide low-interest loans to nurse faculty students - students who want to teach nursing - as incentive for nurses to select careers as nurse educators. NYS received a total of $5.3 million across seven of the eight program areas:

  • Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students - $1,337,132
  • Nurse Faculty Loan - $146,533
  • Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students - $1,237,985
  • Centers of Excellence - $2,131,256
  • Public Health Traineeships - $162,841
  • Dental Public Health Residency - $295,604

On July 23, HRSA announced that the University of Rochester was awarded a grant of over $600,000 for preventive medicine residency.

Funds are awarded directly to applicants for scholarships, loans, and loan repayments. Typically, in exchange they required to serve a minimum of two years in a community that has a shortage of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. Applications are continuously being accepted and a listing of the location of vacancies and the medical specialty of the positions is available for search.

In August, 2009, HRSA distributed $8.1 million through its Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program to healthcare facilities across the nation. Five downstate facilities in New York received ARRA funds to use to help nurses repay their education debts. Six other colleges and universities in New York were awarded grants totaling almost $500,000 to support the training of masters and doctors nursing degree students who commit to teach in this field.

On September 11, 2009, HRSA announced the award of seventeen grants to New York State colleges and universities totaling approximately $3.8 million for scholarships for disadvantaged students, public health traineeships, dental public health residency and for centers of excellence to expand programs for minority students and retain minority faculty.

On September 17, 2009, the Department of Health received a grant of $54,000 to collaborate with other State agencies and resources to increase the number of NHSC applicants that are placed in qualified sites in New York State and to continue to coordinate these placements with Doctors Across New York.

On February 24, 2010, HRSA announced it was soliciting applications for Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry to Support Administrative Academic Units in residency training, pre-doctoral training, faculty development training, physician assistant training and general and pediatric dental residency training program areas.

  • $5 million is available nationwide; HRSA expects to make 10 awards for projects that are two years in duration.
  • Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education and State and county governments; however, either the applicant or a partner must be accredited.
  • Applications were due March 24, 2010.

On February 26, HRSA announced twenty funding opportunities for equipment to enhance healthcare professional training, each valued at $50 million nationwide, with all applications due March 26, 2010.

On April 22, HRSA announced five funding opportunities for Training in Primary Care Medicine. HRSA expects to make between 78 and 100 awards totaling over $51 million. Eligible institutions and intended use of funds vary with each opportunity, but competition is basically limited to hospitals, schools of medicine, or other academically affiliated healthcare professional training programs. Closing date for applications for all five was May 21, 2010:

HRSA followed up these opportunities with $50 million available nationwide for approximately 200 one-year grants for Equipment to Enhance Residency Training, part of the Equipment to Enhance Training for Health Professionals program (EETHP).

  • Competition is open to hospitals, medical and dental schools and academically affiliated physician assistant training programs, and certain nonprofit organizations.
  • Grants be at least $5,000 and at most $300,000.
  • Applications were due May 17, 2010.

On April 28, HRSA announced that approximately $20 million in competitive grants for Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry over four major program areas:

Eligibility varies across the four, but all applications were due May 28, 2010.

On July 2, 2010, HRSA announced the award of $27 million in ARRA grants to schools for scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds with financial need, many underrepresented minorities. Funds also provide low-interest loans to nurse faculty students - students who want to teach nursing - as incentive for nurses to select careers as nurse educators. NYS received a total of $5.3 million across seven of the eight program areas:

  • Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students - $1,337,132
  • Nurse Faculty Loan - $146,533
  • Scholarships For Disadvantaged Students - $1,237,985
  • Centers of Excellence - $2,131,256
  • Public Health Traineeships - $162,841
  • Dental Public Health Residency - $295,604

On July 23, HRSA announced that the University of Rochester was awarded a grant of over $600,000 for preventive medicine residency.

On September 17, 2010, HRSA awarded over $130 million in grants to strengthen and expand the health professions workforce; $88.7 million of this total was ARRA funds. New York State received over $12.7 million of the total amount awarded.

Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (Section 330 of PHS Act)

Recovery Funds

  • $1.5 billion for infrastructure nationwide
    • $500 million for services nationwide

New York State's Share

  • To be determined; $79.7 million to date to Health Centers

The Recovery Act provides funds to the US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) to assist medically underserved populations. The funds are distributed directly to recipients by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The Recovery funds permit new and expanded location construction and also address increased demand for services as more people resort to community health centers for diagnosis and treatment. Such investments can include hiring additional physicians and other medical staff.

Information on NY Awards

On March 2, 2009, five centers in NYS were awarded a total of $7 million in New Access Point grant awards - four in NYC and one upstate in Penn Yan – expecting to serve an additional 45,000 and create 335 jobs.

On March 27, 2009, fifty-one federally-qualified community health care centers in NYS – twenty-nine of them in NYC boroughs – received a total of $19.8 million in Increased Demand for Services (IDS) grants.

On July 2, 2009, another round of capital improvement grant awards was announced which totaled more than $850 million nationwide.

  • Fifty-one centers in NYS received grants totaling $53.5 million, or approximately 6.39% of the national amount available.
  • Five centers received that maximum amount of $2.5 million.
  • Twenty-nine of the centers receiving these grants are in New York City and obtained a total of $27.9 million or 52% of the State total.

On December 9, 2009, HRSA announced that $88 million has been set aside to enhance the funding of health center controlled networks (HCCNs) to provide additional services in support of ARRA-funded acquisitions of electronic health records and health information technology systems by Section 330 community health centers and HCCNs. Two centers in New York City received grants for a combined total of $1.284 million.

Also on December 9th, HRSA listed the 85 community health centers that received grants totaling $508.5 million from the Facility Investment Program that was announced in June. Four centers in New York received a total of $15.56 million in FIP funds:

  • Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx
  • Urban Health Plan Inc., Bronx
  • Family Health Network of Central NY Inc., Cortland
  • Community Healthcare Network, Manhattan

More information, including the full list of recipients for all five of the above grants.

NY Recovery Act Handbook

Rural Development Grants

Recovery Funds

  • $130 million nationwide

NYS Share

  • To be determined

The Recovery Act provides funding for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to award grants and loans directly to rural areas of up to 20,000 in population.

Funds can be used, among other purposes, for hospitals, outpatient clinics and rehabilitation centers; medical and dental clinics; and assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

The goal of the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Programs is to improve the quality of life for rural residents through the provision of essential community facilities such as health care, public safety, and education. The program provides facilities, equipment, and furnishings to house and provide these services; operating funds are not available through this program.

NY Recovery Act Handbook