Physicians could qualify for grants to buy or upgrade electronic health record systems under a legislative proposal announced June 30 by Sens. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
The proposal, the Better Healthcare Through Information Technology Act, would:
- provide three new funding mechanisms to help physicians buy health information technology;
- develop care-quality measures and systems for reporting on those measures to CMS;
- create a public-private partnership to establish national technical and interoperability standards for EHR systems; and
- create services to increase the health community's understanding and efficient use of EHR systems, as well as community members' cooperation in implementing such systems.
In his announcement, Kennedy linked the new EHR bill to the Medicare Value Purchasing Act, a pay-for-performance bill introduced July 1 by Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont. "Together, they (the bills) make a powerful package," said Kennedy. The Grassley-Baucus bill would withhold 2 percent of Medicare payments until physicians reported meeting specific care standards to CMS -- a tactic the Academy has said it opposes. In addition, the Grassley-Baucus bill would not address financial barriers physicians would face in implementing the EHR systems needed to comply with pay-for-performance requirements.
Whether the Enzi-Kennedy EHR bill and the Grassley-Baucus pay-for-performance bill will become complementary laws depends on whether they both survive the legislative process intact, said Kevin Burke, director of AAFP's Division of Government Relations.
Enzi expressed optimism that Congress would approve the Enzi-Kennedy bill to improve health IT use. "This issue is being addressed by multiple committees and is backed by members on both sides of the aisle," he said. "This kind of support should give the bill legs."
The Better Healthcare Through Information Technology Act is the second bill that calls for financial help for physicians. An earlier proposal, the Health Information Technology Act introduced by Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., would provide up to $15,000 to each physician who buys or upgrades an EHR system.
