Senators Expected To Add Health Disparities-Related Amendment To Economic Stimulus Package

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 05 Feb 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on Wednesday are expected to try to amend the economic stimulus package's health information technology section to include a measure that seeks to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities, CongressDaily reports. The amendment aims to ensure that electronic medical records collect data based on race, ethnicity and gender. AARP and several minority and consumer groups intend to support the proposal, according to CongressDaily (Noyes, CongressDaily, 2/4).

The Senate began debate on the almost $900 billion economic stimulus package on Monday. Lawmakers have offered several amendments related to health care and other areas (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/3).

According to the Washington Post, Democratic senators are considering eliminating provisions from the package that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy as a way to gain more bipartisan support (Murray/Kane, Washington Post, 2/4).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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