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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, January 20, 2010
Policy Tracker
N.E. firms win cleantech tax credits; Training grants for green jobs; Hospitals critique electronic records rule
MHT's Galen Moore: Cambridge Innovation Center celebrates 10th anniversary
MHT's Rodney Brown: Honoring tech citizenship among companies
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Tech companies may have to wait for stimulus funds
New England firms win cleantech tax credits
A dozen New England companies were among the firms selected for $2.3 billion in tax credits according to the Obama Administration. The Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits are intended to create at least 17,000 clean energy manufacturing jobs in areas such as solar and wind power, and energy management and efficiency.
According to the U.S. Department of energy, projects selected for the tax credit generally must be placed in service by 2014, although approximately 30 percent of them will be completed in 2010.
— MHT Staff
Labor Department awards green jobs training grants
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded nearly $100 million in grants to 25 training programs that will prepare workers for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.
The grants are part of the administration’s “long-term commitment to fostering both immediate economic revitalization and a clean energy future,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Hospitals critique electronic records rule
Hospitals and doctors contend the Obama administration is moving too fast in their efforts to promote the use of electronic health records. At issue is a proposed regulation that spells out what hospitals and health providers must do in order to receive incentive payments for “meaningful use” of electronic health records. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pay up to $17 billion starting in 2011 to health providers that meet these standards.
The stimulus bill also included a stick to go with this carrot: By 2015, CMS will cut Medicare reimbursements to providers that aren’t “meaningful users” of electronic medical records.
The American Hospital Association contends the proposed rules are too stringent, and would penalize hospitals that already are using health IT to reduce medication errors, track outcomes and collect patient health information.
— Kent Hoover ACBJ Wire Service
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