Vote on Health IT Bill Delayed

Legislation that would promote health IT adoption and create national standards for implementing electronic health records is expected to be put on hold after the Congressional Budget Office projected that it would increase spending and reduce revenue. Separate versions of the bill (HR 4157) were approved last week by the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees, and the full House originally was expected this week to vote on the legislation.

The bill, which is sponsored by Reps. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), would codify the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT within HHS, establish a panel to work on national standards for health data storage and interoperability and clarify how existing medical privacy laws relate to EHRs. The legislation also would require the HHS secretary to examine the "impact of variation" between state and federal security and confidentiality standards. One obstacle is that HHS is in the process of drafting what's expected to be a tight exception rule to Stark and anti-kickback laws that would greatly limit what can be shared between hospitals and providers.