WASHINGTON – Many industry experts and legislative analysts expect a healthcare IT bill to pass under the newly elected 110th Congress, according to an informal survey conducted by Healthcare IT News.
With a slim-to-none chance of lame duck Congressional reconciliation on the current House and Senate HIT bills by the close of 2006, HIT proponents are turning their hopes to the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) and what can be done in 2007 and beyond.
The NDC is a moderate, pro-growth congressional group co-chaired by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) promoting economic growth through technology, science, and research and development.
According to Rep. Adam Smith, the NDC leader on HIT issues, the NDC has built a reputation as the “go-to” group in Congress on critical issues like HIT.
Based on the results of the recent election, the NDC is expected to grow from 46 to 63 members. Rep. Smith said the NDC would continue to prioritize moving HIT legislation through Congress.
According to an NDC policy paper, the Coalition’s agenda includes passing legislation to:
• Provide incentives for adoption of electronic health records
• Provide federal grant support to the development of local, regional, and statewide HIT networks
• Reduce regulatory barriers and the fear of criminal and civil penalties for organizations that wish to provide IT to physicians in exchange for electronic health information
• Ensure strict privacy and security standards for protecting electronic health information
Dave Roberts, vice president of government relations at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) said his organization intends to work closely with the NDC to ensure that the best aspects of each of the proposed HIT bills is included in a compilation bill.
Roberts said this “dream HIT legislation” will likely pass with the support of the NDC. Furthermore, “with Democrats controlling both houses, there will be more options for resolving differences,” Roberts said.
HIMSS already has Democratic and Republican sponsors in the House and Senate for its forthcoming “dream legislation” but cannot name them at this time, Roberts said.
Overall, Democrats will focus on federal funding to jumpstart transformation, and they will also push privacy issues and the implementation of personal health records, Roberts predicted. In addition, Congress will hold more oversight hearings to ask hard questions on HIT topics and work toward addressing what can done, Roberts said.
“We are at the 200,000-foot level now,” Roberts said. “We need to bring HIT issues down to the level of payers and providers.”
The timing will be sooner rather than later, Roberts said. “Democrats are going to want to see successes in the short term.”
Frustrated by bi-partisan bickering and a failure to move forward on an HIT bill, the Bush Administration has made it clear it will not wait for Congress to enact change. The President’s August 2006 executive order launched a federal plan to transform the U.S. healthcare system within 10 years. This plan intends to promote interoperability and force healthcare to function on a quality and cost competitive basis.
