| |
Edition
Three (2/17/09)
  
With History and Flourish,
Obama Signs Stimulus Bill
Boston.com, 2/17/09
Signing his modern-day equivalent to the New
Deal, President Obama declared that the stimulus bill is
the most sweeping economic recovery package in the nation's
history—one that helps keep his campaign promise to
preserve the American dream. President Obama feels
strongly about taking "meaningful steps in years
towards modernizing our health care system. It’s an
investment that will take the long overdue step of
computerizing America’s medical records—to
reduce the duplication and waste that costs billions of
health care dollars and the medical errors that every
year cost thousands of lives."
The government created Recovery.gov, so every American can go on-line
and see how their money is being spent.
HHS Vacancy
Stalls Health Agenda, Advocates Say
Washington Post, 2/17/09
When Thomas A. Daschle, embroiled in controversy over
failing to pay more than $100,000 in back taxes, stepped
down as director of the White House Office on Health
Reform and withdrew his nomination to be secretary of
health and human services, it left a hole in President
Obama's leadership team. The vacancy is one that health
care advocates say has stalled what they hoped would be
speedy action on high-priority measures. Administration
advisers still are not talking publicly about who might
replace Daschle or when a nomination might be made.
On-line Health Data in Remission
Washington Post, 2/17/09
The $19 billion in Congress's economic stimulus package
to bring America's health care records into the
electronic age is an opportunity for information
technology firms seeking to build market share in a still
young industry. Although the federal government set a
goal five years ago of creating an electronic health
record for every American by 2014, the effort has lagged.
Roadblocks include concerns over lack of universal
protocols for collecting data as well as rules that
establish how, with whom and under what circumstances the
data can be shared. Many health care providers fear
liability if private information gets into the wrong
hands. Embedded in all these issues is the cost, an
estimated $150 billion, which has proven to be a
significant barrier to that 2014 target.
U.S. to Compare Medical Treatments
New York Times, 2/17/09
Under the $787 billion economic stimulus bill approved by
Congress, researchers will receive $1.1 billion to
compare drugs, medical devices, surgery and other ways of
treating specific conditions. The bill creates a council
of up to 15 federal employees to coordinate the research
and to advise President Obama and Congress on how to
spend the money. The program responds to a growing
concern about the soaring cost of health care and that
doctors have little or no solid evidence of the value of
many treatments. Supporters of the research hope it will
eventually save money by discouraging the use of costly,
ineffective treatments.
Recovery Package
Gets Congressional Approval
Wall Street Journal, 2/14/09
The House and Senate gave final congressional
approval to sweeping economic-recovery legislation,
marking a new milestone of federal intervention in the
nation's economy. Not a single Republican backed the
package Friday in the House, where seven Democrats joined
176 Republicans in opposition, and 246 voted for it.
Hours later, the Senate, voting 60-38, cleared the
measure to be sent to the White House for President
Barack Obama to sign into law. Three Republicans joined
with 57 Senate Democrats in support of the package; 38
Republicans voted against it.
Health Care Debate in Stimulus Package
examiner.com, 2/14/09
Democrats and Republicans disagree as to how the stimulus
package will change health care in the United States. Now
each party is interpreting the package differently.
Congress passed the stimulus package on February 13, 2009,
with only the support of three Republicans and a majority
of Democrats. To be spent is $11 billion on electronic
health records, $1.1 billion on research comparing which
treatment work best for a particular disease, $1 billion
for a "preventive and wellness fund," $300
million for additional immunizations, and $17 billion in
higher Medicare and Medicade payments for doctors and
hospitals, beginning in 2011, when they adopt electronic
health records.
Privacy Safeguards Included With Stimulus Bill's
Health I.T. Funding
Thompson.com, 2/13/09
Economic stimulus legislation awaiting final approval by
Congress, then expected to be signed into law by
President Barack Obama, includes more stringent medical
records privacy requirements along with $19 billion in
funding for health information technology. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) would provide
grants and payment incentives for physicians, hospitals,
nursing homes, and other health care entities to adopt
and make meaningful use of technology designed to create
and manage electronic health records. The legislation
also includes provisions intended to shore up public
confidence in the use of EHRs and personal health records
by beefing up enforcement of and expanding the scope of
businesses covered by HIPAA.
Final Vote on $789B Economic Stimulus Package
Expected Today
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/13/09
The House and Senate on Friday likely will vote on a $789B
billion compromise economic stimulus package that
includes a number of provisions related to health care
spending. Among other provisions, the stimulus package
includes $19 billion for health care information
technology, with $17 billion for investments and
incentives through Medicare and Medicaid and $2 billion
for a discretionary fund for grants and loans; the
provision also requires the federal government "to
take a leadership role" to develop interoperability
standards for health care I.T. by 2010.
Congress Reaches Stimulus Accord
Washington Post, 2/12/09
Congressional leaders agreed on the details of a nearly $790
billion stimulus package, an unprecedented attempt by the
federal government to jolt the economy, create millions
of jobs, and ease the financial woes facing individuals,
businesses, and states. The bill is made up of four broad
categories: tax breaks for individuals and businesses;
investments in health care and alternative energy;
funding for "shovel-ready" infrastructure
projects; and aid to state and local governments,
including expanded benefits for individuals who are
unemployed and lack health insurance.
Congress Strikes $789 Billion Stimulus Deal
Wall Street Journal, 2/12/09
Congress and the White House reached accord on a $789.5
billion economic-recovery package that would shower
hundreds of billions of dollars in tax relief on
individuals and businesses and spark an infrastructure
building boom, from the nation's ports and waterways to
its schools and military bases. The stimulus accord is a
major win for the high-tech industry, which will receive
billions of dollars in subsidies to expand broadband
access to rural and other underserved areas and a huge
infusion of funds to computerize health care records. In
all, $19 billion is set aside for health I.T. Physicians
would get bonuses of between $44,000 and $64,000—and
hospitals would get as much as $11 million—if they
show they have computerized medical records systems. On
the stick side of the equation, the measure includes
Medicare payment penalties for physicians and hospitals
that are not using electronic health records by 2014.
A Health-Tech Monopoly
Wall Street Journal, 2/11/09
The "stimulus" is the bill that keeps on giving,
not least for journalists. Health care providers and
patients may have a different reaction, however, when
they learn that Democrats are using the bill to create a
health information monopoly that will help centralize
government control of the health-care market. In theory,
electronic medical records are among the few stimulus
ideas that might do some actual good. Democrats and
Republicans agree that exchanging the paper files we
mostly use now for digital versions will lower costs, cut
down on medical errors, and maybe cure the common cold.
Senate Passage of Stimulus Bill Sets Stage for Conference
on Hill
Government Health IT, 2/10/09
House and Senate leaders are preparing to resolve the
differences between the health information technology
provisions in their economic stimulus bills now that the
Senate has passed its version of the legislation.
Although President Barack Obama and congressional leaders
had hoped to get the bill enacted and signed by mid-February,
that might prove difficult. The House version is 679
pages long, and the Senate bill is comparable in length.
Within those pages, there are many differences to be
resolved.
Analysis: Stimulus Package Ripe with I.T.
Opportunities
Washington Technology, 2/10/09
Government contractors are anxiously watching the
economic stimulus package as it makes its way through
Congress. The package could include as much as $100
billion for technology intiatives and infrastructure
spending in areas such as health care, energy, broadband
access, and even the government’s shadowy
cybersecurity initiative. Health I.T. is the technology
receiving the most support, with approximately $20
billion in the House bill and $23 billion in the Senate
measure dedicated to expanding the use of electronic
health records and building a national health information
exchange.
Will We Make History?
H&HN Magazine, 2/09
From the 1930s onward, health reform has been a national
concern. With a new, determined president, growing
consensus and billions in federal funds, dramatic change
may be a hand. Two years ago, then-Sen. Barack Obama
stood on the steps of the Old State Capitol in
Springfield, Ill., and laid out an ambitious agenda for
change, involving a bold action on health care. But
February 2007 was a different time where the credit
crisis was months off; no Wall Street banks were being
bailed out; the big three automakers were not yet on
death’s door; and, most important, the overall
economy was still 10 months from officially entering the
recession. Even as the economic dominoes began to fall,
Obama continued to advocate sweeping health care reform.
But his message became more nuanced as he campaigned for
and ultimately won the presidency: Health care and the
health of the economy are intertwined.
Health Care
Winners and Losers in the Stimulus Package
Los Angeles
Times, 2/17/09
When President Obama and his allies pulled together the $787-billion
bill that he is to sign, they talked about helping those
rapidly swelling the ranks of America's more than 46
million uninsured. But in the scramble to pass a bill,
lawmakers made changes that left out millions of middle-class
Americans who have lost their jobs and are struggling to
fill a prescription or pay for a visit to the doctor.
That reflected a frenzied process in which sometimes
arbitrary decisions were made to speed agreements and
satisfy an array of political interest groups working to
influence the massive bill, according to this article in
the Los Angeles Times.
States and Cities Angle for Stimulus Cash
New York Times, 2/14/09
Well before President Obama’s stimulus
package completed its tortuous path through Congress last
week, state and local officials facing multimillion-dollar
budget deficits, crumbling infrastructure and the
prospect of massive reductions in services were already
jockeying for the upper hand in deciding how the money
should be spent.
Health Benefits
from Stimulus
San Francisco Chronicle, 2/13/09
The San Francisco Chronicle outlines the health related
spending in the federal government's economic stimulus
plan, including $87 billion added to Medicaid funding
over the next two years; $24.7 billion to subsidize
unemployed workers by 60% for up to nine months to stay
on their employers' health plan; and $19 billion to
modernize health information technology systems.
Medpedia:
A Collaborative Encyclopedia for Health Care
New York Times, 2/17/09
Medicine and health are among the most popular topics for
Web surfers, but an Internet entrepreneur says the
current offerings are inadequate. James Currier has
developed Medpedia, a free online medical encyclopedia
that addresses what he views as the sector?s shortcomings.
However, unlike Wookieepedia, Lostpedia and most social
encyclopedias, only trained professionals will be able to
write and edit pages on the Medpedia Web site, and all
contributors will have individual author pages detailing
their qualifications and backgrounds.
Stimulus Prompts
Talk of Health Care Rationing
San Francisco Chronicle, 2/12/09
A relatively small provision in the stimulus bill that
would devote about $1 billion in government research
funds to figure out which drugs and medical devices work
better than others has some industry groups, conservative
talk-show hosts, and others crying "rationing."
To proponents, the research would improve quality of care
and reduce health costs by limiting the use of drugs and
treatments that do not work well.
Archives
|