CHICAGO – Healthcare organizations and state officials eager for a share of the $1.2 billion in federal government grants earmarked for healthcare IT technology will be told Thursday how to apply for the money.

The nation's healthcare IT chief, David Blumenthal, MD, will join Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in Chicago to make the announcement.

They also will meet with doctors, nurses and administrators at Mt. Sinai Hospital, a "safety net" hospital on the west side of Chicago that provides care to low-income, uninsured and vulnerable populations.

Biden will emphasize the importance of health insurance reform, including health information technology infrastructure and preventive care, according to a White House statement.

The grants include $598 million to establish 70 health information technology regional extension centers to help hospitals and clinicians and $564 million to help states improve information sharing – expected to be made available to states for developing and supporting health information exchanges (HIEs).

The grants are part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package.

"With electronic health records, we are making healthcare safer," Biden said in a statement. "We're making it more efficient, we're making you healthier, and we're saving money along the way."