Obama Budget Includes New Fee For EHR Vendors

Once again, the federal electronic health-record incentive payment program could take a financial hit due to government budget cutting. This time, EHR developers are being asked to take one for the team.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS, as part of President Barack Obama's budget proposal, wants health IT vendors to pay an estimated $1 million in fees to help offset the cost of ONC's certification and standards activities.

The fee plan is tucked into the last two pages of the ONC's 59-page portion of the budget proposal released Wednesday. The president's overall budget called for $5.6 billion in Medicare payment cuts for fiscal 2014.