[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4317 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4317

  To provide for a pilot program for the use of optical memory cards 
               under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 1998

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
 Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for a pilot program for the use of optical memory cards 
               under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE USE OF OPTICAL MEMORY CARDS UNDER THE 
              MEDICARE AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Health Care Financing 
Administration shall provide for a pilot program to examine the use of 
optical memory cards for the storage of identification and medical 
records information on medicare and medicaid beneficiaries. Such 
program shall specifically examine the impact of the use of such 
cards--
            (1) on reducing waste, fraud, and abuse under the medicare 
        and medicaid programs, and
            (2) on savings in costs under such programs as a result of 
        greater efficiencies in the storage and retrieval of 
        information.
The pilot program shall be conducted in at least 8, but not more than 
10, hospitals and health care centers located in the area of Southern 
New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, to be selected jointly by the 
Administrator and the grantee operating the program. Hospitals and 
centers participating in the program shall be provided at no cost with 
computer readers to store and retrieve data on the card. The pilot 
program shall operate for a 1 year period.
    (b) Report.--Within 90 days after the date of the completion of the 
pilot program, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on 
the success or failure of the pilot program under this section. Such 
report shall include such recommendations on the continued and expanded 
use of optical memory cards under the medicare and medicaid programs as 
the Administrator deems appropriate.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriation.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out the pilot program under this 
section. Amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain 
available until expended. Of the amount appropriated to carry out the 
program--
            (1) $850,000 shall be available for the costs of 
        manufacturing and distributing optical memory cards, and
            (2) $150,000 shall be available for the distribution of the 
        computer readers to hospitals and health care centers 
        participating in the pilot program and for training costs in 
        such hospitals and centers.
    (d) Optical Memory Card Defined.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``optical memory card`' means a card which--
            (1) is approximately the size of a credit card or driver's 
        license;
            (2) serves as identification of a patient and stores 
        medical data on the patient in electronic form;
            (3) identifies the patient through a photograph of the 
        patient on the front of the card, as well as a photograph and 
        finger print in electronic form stored within the data on the 
        card; and
            (4) can have the data stored on it read through a computer 
        reader that is at a hospital or health care center 
        participating in the pilot program.
                                 <all>