WASHINGTON – With the death of Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy (D-Mass.) late Tuesday night goes one of the staunchest allies of health reform and healthcare IT advancement.
Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, had suffered from brain cancer for more than a year. He served 46 years as a senator. He died at home in Hyannis Port, Mass.
"For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts," President Barack Obama said on hearing of Kennedy's death.
Most recently, Kennedy was a supporter of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which includes $19 billion for health IT advancement and funding to promote healthcare, medical research and the study of comparative effectiveness treatments. In July, he cast a deciding vote on a Medicare bill to prevent significant cuts to physician reimbursement.
Kennedy was a long-time advocate for health reform and continued to help with reform packages while undergoing treatment for his cancer. In March, he surprised his colleagues with an unexpected appearance at a White House summit on health reform, saying "this time we will not fail."
On July 15, the HELP committee passed a reform bill sponsored by Kennedy.
During the last days of his life, Kennedy was concerned that his death would leave Massachusetts without a replacement in time for a full Senate vote on a health reform package. He had been pushing for a change in the state's law to ensure a temporary successor would be named upon his death.
Kennedy's loss is felt across the healthcare community.
"Ted Kennedy was a great inspiration to us all. He was a champion of healthcare IT and high quality coverage for all. His charisma and energy will be missed," said John Halamka, chairman of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel.
Halamka said Kennedy's support of health IT will be supported by progress already made in the federal government. "We've achieved a great policy and technology roadmap that is backed by ARRA stimulus funds to encourage adoption. The future, inspired by Ted Kennedy's vision, will be very bright," he said.
David W. Roberts, Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIIMSS) vice president of government relations said, "We were saddened to learn of Senator's Kennedy's passing. As a compassionate champion of healthcare reform who understood the value of health IT, Senator Kennedy was a longtime friend of HIMSS and the HIT community. We were fortunate to have him speak at HIMSS' first Policy Summit, and most recently he and his staff worked closely with the Obama Administration to ensure funding for incentives to help individual hospitals and providers implement HIT. His efforts to improve healthcare for all Americans inspires all of us who are working toward the same goal."
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) said, "Senator Edward Kennedy was America's healthcare champion. His contribution to health care policy is unmatched."
"Today, the American Medical Association joins the nation in mourning the death of Senator Edward Kennedy," added James Rohack, MD, president of the American Medical Association. "During his many years in public service, Senator Kennedy was a champion for America's patients – working until the end to make improvements on their behalf. For example, Senator Kennedy was a leading voice in efforts to expand access to healthcare for children and to secure fair health coverage for the mentally ill."
"No doubt Senator Kennedy's legacy will be burnished by his many contributions to improving America's health system over the years – including his work that helped pave the way for this year's effort to provide affordable, quality health insurance coverage to all Americans," Rohack said.
