On June 10, 2008, HHS announced the 12 communities that will participate in a national Medicare demonstration project that provides incentive payments to physicians for using certified EHRs to improve the quality of patient care. The project will include up to 1,200 primary care physician practices in the following areas: Alabama; Delaware; Jacksonville, FL; Georgia; Maine; Louisiana; Maryland/Washington, DC; Oklahoma; Pittsburgh, PA; South Dakota (multi-state); Virginia; and Madison, WI. Total payments under the demonstration for all five years may be up to $58,000 per physician or $290,000 per practice. CMS will begin working with partners in four Phase I communities over the coming months to develop site-specific recruitment strategies, and recruitment of physician practices will start in the fall. For Phase II sites, these activities will begin in 2009.