Health IT bill advances in Senate; grants have bipartisan support

The federal government may spend $278 million to help physicians buy information technology.

By Dave Hansen, AMNews staff. July 16, 2007.

Washington -- A leading bipartisan bill to promote health care information technology by establishing physician grants and a process for recommending health IT standards passed one of its first hurdles last month.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unanimously approved the measure on June 27. Supporters hope for a quick vote in the full Senate before it adjourns on Aug. 6 for its summer recess.

The Wired for Health Care Quality Act includes $278 million to purchase health IT. It would offer matching health IT purchasing grants ($3 for every $1) to physicians who deliver care to underserved populations and who demonstrate financial need. The legislation also would provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds to states to make low-interest loans to physicians for purchasing health IT.

A new public-private board would recommend to the Dept. of Health and Human Services the technical aspects, such as interoperability, that health information record systems should follow. Federal public health programs would be required to follow the standards ultimately selected by the president. This would be optional for private organizations.

The bill, sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.), Hillary Clinton (D, N.Y.), Orrin Hatch (R, Utah), and Mike Enzi (R, Wyo.), also would extend HIPAA privacy rules to companies that run health information databases. It would require that any national health IT policy include methods to notify patients when their privacy is compromised.