123STA T . 2 50PUBLIC LA W 111 – 5 —FE B.1 7, 200 9‘ ‘ (B)Procedu re st o b e f o l lo w edb y t h e ap pl i ca n ts . ‘‘( C ) Criteria for deter m inin gq ualified applicants. ‘‘( D ) M a x imum support le v els expected to be available to centers under the program. ‘‘( 7 ) AP P LICAT I ONREV IE W . —T he S ecretary shall sub j ect each application under this subsection to merit review. I nma k ing a decision whether to approve such application and provide financial support , the Secretary shall consider at a minimum the merits of the application, including those portions of the application regarding— ‘‘(A) the ability of the applicant to provide assistance under this subsection and utili z ation of health information technology appropriate to the needs of particular categories of health care providers
‘‘(B) the types of service to be provided to health care providers; ‘‘(C) geographical diversity and extent of service area; and ‘‘(D) the percentage of funding and amount of in - kind commitment from other sources. ‘‘( 8 ) BIENNIAL EVAL U ATION.— E ach regional center which receives financial assistance under this subsection shall be evaluated biennially by an evaluation panel appointed by the Secretary. Each evaluation panel shall be composed of private experts, none of whom shall be connected with the center involved, and of F ederal officials. Each evaluation panel shall measure the involved center ’ s performance against the objective specified in paragraph ( 3 ). The Secretary shall not continue to provide funding to a regional center unless its evaluation is overall positive. ‘‘( 9 ) CONTINUIN GS UPPORT.—After the second year of assist- ance under this subsection, a regional center may receive addi- tional support under this subsection if it has received positive evaluations and a finding by the Secretary that continuation of Federal funding to the center was in the best interest of provision of health information technology extension services. ‘ ‘ SEC.301 3.S TA TE GR A N TST OP RO M OTE H EA L TH I N F ORMATION TECH - NOLOG Y . ‘‘(a) IN G ENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the N ational Coordinator, shall establish a program in accordance with this section to facilitate and expand the electronic movement and use of health information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards. ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Secretary may award a grant to a State or qualified State-designated entity (as described in subsection (f)) that submits an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may specify, for the purpose of planning activities described in subsection (d). ‘‘(c) I M PLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The Secretary may award a grant to a State or qualified State designated entity that— ‘‘( 1 ) has submitted, and the Secretary has approved, a plan described in subsection (e) (regardless of whether such plan was prepared using amounts awarded under subsection (b); and 42USC30 0 j j – 33 . C rite ri a . P r oc e du re s .
