House Bill Challenges Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Programs

Legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to repeal several federal programs and reduce federal spending by $2.5 trillion dollars through fiscal year 2021. HR. 408, the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, includes language to eliminate unobligated discretionary funds available through division A of ARRA. This bill places at risk the unobligated funds for HITECH programs created by the ONC to accelerate adoption and use of HIE and HIT. The bill also would repeal the meaningful use incentive program, found in Title IV of Division B of ARRA. The bill aligns with statements from many members of the House to reduce the size of government and federal spending. To view the entire bill go to: http://rsc.jordan.house.gov/UploadedFiles/JORDAN_004_xml.pdf