From SAMHSA's Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition - March 18, 2011: On March 10, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced legislation (S. 539) that would make behavioral health providers and facilities eligible for incentive payments under the Medicaid and Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive payment program.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act offers incentive payments to hospitals and providers that demonstrate “meaningful use” of EHRs within the Medicaid and Medicare programs, as established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Currently, psychiatrists are eligible for the incentives but other behavioral health professionals and facilities are not.  The new bill would allow licensed psychologists and clinical social workers to receive incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid.  It would also expand the Medicaid incentive program to include community mental health centers, mental health treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals, and clinics offering substance abuse treatment.  In addition, the bill would offer Medicare incentive payments to inpatient psychiatric hospitals.  The bill is now before the Senate Finance Committee.