HHS awards $100M in CHIP grants for EMRs, quality programs

HHS has announced more than $100 million in grants to 10 states for health IT in order to improve care and efficiency for children who receive insurance through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Through multi-state collaborations, the money eventually will reach 18 states, the agency says.

Two of the grant recipients will develop a new pediatric EMR with the funding, while eight states will test a new set of quality measures specific to children's health, according to HHS.

"These grants will test the most current theories of how to improve the quality of care delivered to children," said Cindy Mann, director of the CMS Center for Medicaid and State Operations, says in a press release. "These awards will help create the foundation for a more responsive and effective national system of high quality healthcare for children."

The money, to be awarded over a five-year period, is from the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), and not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For more information:
- see this HHS press release
- take a look at this Healthcare IT News story

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