eHealth Initiative Statement on Spending Reduction Act (H.R. 408)

eHealth Initiative Statement on Spending Reduction Act (H.R. 408)

February 1, 2011, WASHINGTON, D.C. – JenniferCovich Bordenick, Chief Executive Officer of the eHealth Initiative, issued the following statement on the Spending Reduction Act (H.R. 408), introduced by members of the Republican Study Committee, which would repeal the HITECH Act’s Meaningful Use incentive payments for physicians and hospitals:

“The health care sector is slowly but surely moving toward becoming a system that will use technology to provide safer and more efficient care for patients. This would not be possible without the HITECH Act’s assistance. We believe that, while the HITECH Act was not perfect, the private and public sector are now working together to mold its provisions into a workable plan for reform.

“We realize that the Spending Reduction Act represents a principled stand against government spending, but we would encourage Members of Congress to not use the HITECH Act or any of its provisions as a target, as that will only create further uncertainty in the health care sector. Any attempt to repeal funding for health information technology would have severely negative effects on public and private progress now and in coming years.

“The movement to bring health care into the 21st century has been a largely bipartisan effort since the early days of health IT, and we hope to see this admirable and productive bipartisanship sustained in future health care legislation and budgets.

“We are happy to sit down with any Republican legislators who are concerned about the federal government’s role in or spending on health IT.”

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About the eHealth Initiative: The eHealth Initiative (eHI) is a Washington D.C.-based, independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to drive improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. Working with its 210 member organizations, eHI works to create a world where consumers, health care providers, and those responsible for population health will have ready access to timely, relevant, reliable and secure information and services through an interconnected, electronic health information infrastructure to support better health and healthcare. www.ehealthinitiative.org.

   

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