ATLANTA – Some members of Congress are going to ask federal officials to postpone the start date for when providers must begin to show meaningful use of health data to qualify for bonuses under the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who spoke in a healthcare policy session Monday morning at HIMSS10.

Under ARRA, hospitals may begin collecting data by Oct. 1 of this year and physicians by Jan. 1, 2011 to qualify for the most bonuses. But Price and a bipartisan group of House members feel this is too steep of a deadline. Providers will struggle to be ready in time, he said.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are expected to release a new certification rule soon that would establish how organizations could apply to become certifiers of electronic health record products for meaningful use. Price said all of this will take more time - both for certifying bodies and providers.

Price, an orthopedic surgeon and the ranking Republican member on the House Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee said, "the question we ought to be asking ourselves is, how is all of this going to work"?
All 14 physicians in the House agree advancement of healthcare IT is more important than ever, but HIT laws need to be flexible, he added.

"Flexibility is so incredibly important. Without it, vendors and physicians won't be able to create efficiency and success in their health IT systems," he added. "The last thing we want is for the federal government to lock in what you must do and set it in stone."

Regarding the health reform deadlock on Capitol Hill, Price said he doesn't anticipate Congress passing a comprehensive health reform package this year.

Congress would have more of a chance passing a smaller bill that tackles one issue at a time, he said. These might include legislation to advance healthcare IT,  health insurance reform on preexisting conditions or extending parental  healthcare coverage to young adults through age 26.