November 14, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Gearing Up for Reform. Despite a worsening economy, proponents on Capitol Hill believe the new Administration must move early to seize the opportunity to address health reform. Delay in tackling this issue was believed to have contributed to President Clinton’s failed attempt at reform. Senator Kennedy (D-MA), who is battling brain cancer, has directed staff over the past several months to meet with... read more
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October 31, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Health Cost Estimates, ICD-10 Readiness/Work Group Focus of Advocacy Sessions. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Senior Analyst Stuart Hagen in remarks before CHIME08 last week, described CBO’s role in analyzing the impact of legislative proposals, which is a prerequisite before the Congress can consider new spending. Previous health IT bills have not demonstrated government savings, thus failing this CBO test, one factor... read more
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October 17, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
ONC Meeting Focuses on Medical Identity Theft. “Taking care of patients means taking care of their data as well” was among the various observations by speakers addressing a town hall meeting conducted by the HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) this week. Intent of the meeting was to explore... read more
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October 3, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Post-Election Wrap-Up and Health IT Webinar. Less than five weeks remain until the election, which is expected to have an enormous impact on the health information technology industry. To learn what to expect from a new Administration, 111th Congress and changes at the State level you are invited to attend this timely event. Former U.S. House of Representatives Member Ron Packard (R- CA) and National Conference of State Legislatures Staffer Tim Storey team up on November 12, 12:00 PM ET (9:00 AM PT, 10:00 AM MT,11:00 AM CT) to provide a Congressional and State wrap-up. This complimentary webinar is made available to CHIME members as part of our collaborative relationship with HIMSS. To register... read more
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September 26, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Partisan Views on Ways and Means Proposal. In meetings this week with both Democratic Majority and Republican Minority health staff, CHIME focused on the rationale for various provisions of the Health-e Information Technology Act of 2008 (HR 6898), introduced... read more
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September 19, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Health IT Bill Offers Major Incentive Payments for IT Adoption. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA-13) introduced legislation this week to provide $1 million in incentives to hospitals and $41,000 to physicians who adopt... read more
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September 12, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Building a Health Reform Base. With just three weeks left in the 110th Congress, Members returned this week to address certain unfinished business as well as prepare for 2009. As part of this effort, a Senate Finance Committee hearing explored, “Health Care Quality: An Integral Step Toward Health Reform.” Pacific Business Group on Health... read more
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September 5, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Democratic and Republican Platforms for Health. Bi-partisan proposals and across-the-aisle general consensus on standards, interoperability and related issues have characterized Congressional consideration of health IT legislation in recent years. Party platforms in 2008 for health IT are similarly in agreement, although details are lacking. Whether 2009 brings a... read more
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August 8, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Congressional IT Healthcare Caucuses. As a means to focus attention on health IT legislation, both House and Senate proponents have formed interest Caucuses for purposes of spearheading legislation, collaborating on “Dear Colleague Letters,” holding briefings and otherwise calling attention to these transformative tools. In the House, the bi-partisan 21st Century Healthcare Caucus that includes... read more
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August 1, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Medicare Reform in 2009. As policymakers look toward health reform in 2009, there is obvious interest in wrapping Medicare into these efforts. Issues like Medicare spending that exceeded $400 billion in 2007, benefit gaps, lack of information on what works medically and administrative inflexibility demand attention... read more
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July 25, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Health IT Bill Advances. By voice vote, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 23 approved the Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act (PROTECH [T] HR 6357). The legislation would make permanent the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within HHS, provide $560 million in grants and loans to help health care providers... read more
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July 18, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Veto Override Assures Medicare Passage. Both the House (383-41) and Senate (70-26) easily overrode President Bush’s veto of legislation to block a 10.6 percent scheduled cut in Medicare physician reimbursement and provide incentive payments to physicians for electronic prescribing (for details on e-prescribing provisions, see July 11 Advocacy Corner.). To offset the cost of the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008” (HR 6331), the bill... read more
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July 11, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Medicare and e-Prescribing. With Senator Kennedy’s (D-MA) surprise visit to cast his vote, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 bill (HR 6331) easily passed by a vote of 69-30 on Wednesday. Kennedy was undergoing… read more
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July 3, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Medicare. During its Independence Day recess this week, Members of Congress are no doubt giving some thought to much unfinished business. For example, as Members departed last Thursday, physicians were scheduled July 1 for a 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare payments. The scheduled reduction was as a result of the 1997 balanced budget act… read more
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June 27, 2008 - Report from Capitol Hill
Medicare. With just a few days left before the July 4th Congressional recess, there was a strong effort to show some progress on must-pass bills. Medicare legislation, delaying for 18 months a 10 percent cut in physician fees, passed the House on June 24 by a bi-partisan veto-proof margin of 355-59 vote. The bill would also create new incentives for the electronic transmission of prescriptions from physicians to pharmacies, a provision CHIME... read more
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