WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama pushed the urgency of an economic stimulus package during his first televised national address Monday night. Included in that package, he said, is funding for healthcare IT.

Obama said the transformation of the nation's healthcare system from paper to electronic health records is as important as creating energy jobs. Both, he said, will help reduce waste in the future.

The president's speech followed a close Senate vote to curtail further debate on the more than $800 billion package. A final Senate vote is expected Tuesday.

Obama would like to see a bill on his desk by the end of the week. If the Senate approves the bill, Congress would have just a few days to reconcile the House and Senate versions.

The Senate package would include more than $100 billion for healthcare and $22 billion for healthcare IT, including $3 billion for funding that could be used to provide grants for providers to purchase healthcare IT.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania have provided Democrats with the additional votes to curtail debate. They are likely to be pivotal in passing the package on Tuesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the final vote should be postponed until the Senate has had the opportunity to carefully review a full analysis of the Congressional Budget Office.

"There’s been a lot talk about bang for the buck, but there’s no talk about actually making sure it happens so that Americans get the help they need," he said. "Before Congress spends another $1 trillion, we ought to make sure we are getting our money’s worth."
 
Photo by jurvetson and obtained under Creative Commons license.