IT stakeholders want 'all of the above' in conference

High-tech companies and healthcare groups with a stake in the Senate's $838 billion stimulus are largely satisfied with its health information technology language but are urging conferees to include portions of the House's $819 billion stimulus to maintain investments to jump-start nationwide adoption of electronic medical records.

The Senate version includes about $16 billion in Medicare and Medicaid incentives for health IT, about $2 billion less than the House plan.

Microsoft's top lobbyist Fred Humphries said the Senate's funding "is a good first step" but further action is needed. His company believes additional spending tied to measurable outcomes would help President Obama and Congress achieve their goal of lowering healthcare costs and improving quality of care.

The company offers software that lets patients and providers store health information. It hopes conferees will keep provisions that allow consumers to control their health records.

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers said the Senate's Tuesday passage of the stimulus "sends a message to all Americans that we are investing in the future of our country." Chambers and Humphries lauded provisions to spur high-speed Internet deployment and energy efficiency.

Business Software Alliance President Robert Holleyman also hailed the Senate passage, saying the stimulus bill contained "smart investments in information technology."

And Health IT Now! Coalition Executive Director Joel White, whose group represents more than 175 stakeholders including AstraZeneca, Cisco and Pfizer, urged conferees to adopt the Senate's higher level of health IT funding.

Not everyone sang the Senate's praises. Patient Privacy Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union argued that changes weakened privacy protections they believe would help safeguard consumers' personal information. The House-passed bill required certain firms to obtain permission before sending marketing materials and limited how much money chain drug stores and others could make selling medical data.

PPR Executive Director Ashley Katz said unless conferees close those loopholes, the package could "destroy public trust in electronic health records."

"This is desperation time for the pharmaceutical companies and data brokers and who want to sell patients' data," ACLU lobbyist Tim Sparapani said. "We're going to fight like mad to protect patient privacy -- we'll pull out all the stops."

But the National Association of Chain Drug Stores views the changes as an improvement. The group said the Senate's version ensured new privacy requirements do not prevent pharmacies from contacting individuals about medication, treatment options and refill reminders. The Senate bill also changed breach-notification requirements, which NACDS believes will protect patients whose information has been inappropriately disclosed without penalizing providers for inadvertent or harmless disclosures.

Shortly after voting for the stimulus, Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon joined Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall of New Mexico at an Intel Corp. briefing to stress the importance of investments in technology to help fuel an economic rebound.

Wyden said the microchip manufacturer was investing in health IT "long before it became cool." Intel executives were on Capitol Hill to announce a two-year, $7 billion build-out of new facilities in several states. The investment will create thousands of high-skilled and construction-related jobs, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said.