House Leaders Unveil Economic Stimulus Package That Includes Health IT, Medicaid Funding

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail;  Public Health;  Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 19 Jan 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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House Democrats on Thursday released an $825 billion economic stimulus proposal that includes $20 billion to encourage adoption of health care information technology and $87 billion in increased state Medicaid funding, BNA reports (Teske, BNA, 1/16). In addition to the health care measures, the package also includes funding for infrastructure and education, as well as tax-related measures (Clarke, CQ Today, 1/15).

According to BNA, a House Democratic aide said that the health IT provision includes incentives to encourage providers to adopt health IT and penalties for those who do not implement the measures. The funding also would be used to train IT workers, build a national health information exchange, provide hardware for hospitals and physicians and fund grants for providers who do not participate in Medicare or Medicaid, the aide said. According to a press release the House Appropriations Committee prepared, the provisions promoting implementation of health IT will spur job creation, lower health care and save lives. (BNA, 1/16). According to CQ Today, many Democrats claim that funding health IT will provide a foundation for a more efficient and productive economy in the future.

The spending portion of the proposed legislation aims to prevent states from cutting programs or raising taxes to address budget deficits, CQ Today reports. A substantial portion of such spending will target health and education initiatives, including $87 billion allocated for Medicaid programs (CQ Today, 1/15). According to the Appropriations Committee release, the stimulus package would increase the portion of funds the federal government reimburses states for Medicaid costs by 4.8% through the end of fiscal year 2010. The release added that supplemental funds could become available if the unemployment rate rises. In addition, the package would allocate $8.6 billion to provide 100% federal funding through 2010 for optional state Medicaid coverage of individuals, including their dependents, who are involuntarily unemployed and who meet certain income eligibility requirements (BNA, 1/16).

House committees are expected to review the proposed package next week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that the full House will vote on the proposal the week of Jan. 26 before sending it to the Senate for consideration. Pelosi said she expects the Senate to develop its own package, adding that final legislation should be sent to the White House by mid-February (BNA, 1/16). Although the package was generally "well-received" by Democrats, some Republicans have expressed concern that the package contains too much spending and might not boost the economy effectively, according to CQ Today (CQ Today, 1/15).

Groups Lobby for Privacy Protections

In related news, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Social Workers, Patient Privacy Rights and Consumer Action this week sent letters to Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and President-elect Barack Obama requesting that health IT measures in the stimulus package ensure that individuals have control over the use of their medical records and are protected from firms that share and sell medical data.

Ashley Katz, executive director of Patient Privacy Rights, said, "We all want to innovate and improve health care, but without privacy our system will crash, as any system with a persistent and chronic virus will." Tim Sparapani, an ACLU lobbyist, said the "shadowy" multibillion dollar business of trading patient information will grow stronger as health IT proliferates. America's Health Insurance Plans said the group supports efforts to move to an interoperable health IT but that it was concerned that the privacy provisions might harm the health care system. A spokesperson for the group said it is "vital that policymakers consider how this legislation will impact claims payment, quality control and programs to coordinate care and manage treatment for patients with chronic conditions." Deven McGraw of the Center for Democracy and Technology said lawmakers must approach health IT "from a comprehensive policy framework as opposed to a one-size-fits-all solution" and that rules regarding health providers that exchange medical records need to be different from rules for personal health record products designed for consumer use (Noyes, CongressDaily, 1/15).

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