[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 108 (Monday, August 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             NO MORE PAPER

                                 ______


                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 8, 1994

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an issue that is 
becoming increasingly prevalent as the health care reform debate 
continues. Health care providers are inundated with paperwork. If this 
trend does not stop, we will need separate buildings just for the 
paper. We must do something.
  Why do we have all this paper? Let me share with you my experience. A 
few weeks ago, at the behest of the Georgia Chapter of the Healthcare 
Financial Management Association and the Georgia Hospital Association, 
I had the opportunity to visit Kennestone Hospital, which is located in 
my district. This time, instead of limiting my visit to the patient 
care areas, I went through the hospital's business office. I got to see 
everything that goes on in that office--all the steps it takes to 
process a patient's bill starting from before admission to after the 
patient is released. What I learned on this tour was truly 
overwhelming.
  Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my colleagues realize that just about every 
health care payer has its own variation of a health care claim form, 
with minimal standardization across payers. Even Medicare's 
standardized form is not used uniformly; intermediaries may require 
different formats and/or attachments. Now the health care provider is 
essentially struck--if they want to get paid, they have to comply with 
the demands of the payer, including Medicare.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a waste. It's a waste of human resource, and 
it's a waste of money. We need to fix this and we need to do it this 
year. We have the opportunity to do just that. Representatives Sawyer 
and Hobson have spent many months--working with health care provider 
groups such as the Healthcare Financial Management Association, 
computer companies and insurers--developing a legislative proposal to 
simplify and unify the health care administrative system.
  H.R. 3137, the Health Care Information Modernization and Security Act 
of 1993, would mandate that all providers and payers conform to a 
uniform form. Further, everything would be processed electronically. No 
more paper. Patient privacy would be protected; appropriate timelines 
would be set for a smooth transition to this new system.
  The electronic superhighway is the wave of the future. Health care 
claims processing is an area that would greatly benefit from getting on 
board that highway.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to visit a hospital in their 
district and see what's going on in the business office. Hear their 
perspective. Moreover, I encourage you to give serious consideration to 
H.R. 3137. Patients, our constituents, will benefit most from this 
bill. This is a bill that can be enacted this year and produce 
significant savings, both financially and in terms of human resources.
  


                       SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

  Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on February 
4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized 
schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate committees, 
subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. This 
title requires all such committees to notify the Office of the Senate 
Daily Digest--designated by the Rules Committee--of the time, place, 
and purpose of the meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or 
changes in the meetings as they occur.
  As an additional procedure along with the computerization of this 
information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest will prepare this 
information for printing in the Extensions of Remarks section of the 
Congressional Record on Monday and Wednesday of each week.
  Meetings scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, 1994, may be found in the 
Daily Digest of today's Record.

                           MEETINGS SCHEDULED

                               AUGUST 10
     9:00 a.m.
       Labor and Human Resources
         Business meeting, to mark up S. 1821, authorizing funds 
           to provide a comprehensive program for the prevention 
           of fetal alcohol syndrome, S. 1781, to make 
           improvements in the Black Lung Benefits Act, S. 1037, 
           to eliminate the provision in the Civil Rights Act of 
           1991 that would exempt the employer and employees 
           involved in the Wards Cove Packing Co. versus Atonio 
           case, and to consider pending nominations.
                                                            SD-430
       Office of Technology Assessment Board meeting, to consider 
           pending business.
                                                   EF-100, Capitol
     9:30 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         Business meeting, to consider pending calendar business.
                                                            SD-366
     10:00 a.m.
       Foreign Relations
         To hold hearings to examine the current status of the Law 
           of the Sea Convention.
                                                            SD-419
       Indian Affairs
         Business meeting, to mark up S. 2269, to protect Native 
           American cultures and to guarantee the free exercise of 
           religion by Native Americans, S. 2036, to specify the 
           terms of contracts entered into by the U.S. and Indian 
           tribal organizations under the Indian Self-
           Determination and Education Assistance Act, S. 2150, to 
           establish a Native Hawaiian housing program, S. 2259, 
           to provide for the settlement of Confederated Tribes of 
           the Colville Reservation claims concerning their 
           contribution to the production of hydropower by the 
           Grand Coulee Dam, and S. 2329, to provide for the 
           settlement of certain Mohegan Indian land claims within 
           the State of Connecticut; to be followed by hearings on 
           pending nominations.
                                                            SH-216
     10:30 a.m.
       Select on Intelligence
         To hold closed hearings on intelligence matters.
                                                            SH-219
     1:30 p.m.
       Small Business
         Business meeting, to mark up S. 2060, authorizing funds 
           for fiscal years 1995 through 1997 for programs of the 
           Small Business Administration.
                                                           SR-428A
     2:00 p.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings on the nominations of Walter B. 
           Slocombe, of the District of Columbia, to be Under 
           Secretary for Policy, Jan Lodal, of Virginia, to be 
           Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, Joseph Nye, of 
           Massachusetts, to be Assistant Secretary for 
           International Security Affairs, Sandra K. Stuart, of 
           North Carolina, to be Assistant Secretary for 
           Legislative Affairs, Judith A. Miller, of Ohio, to be 
           General Counsel, and Philip Edward Coyle III, of the 
           District of Columbia, to be Director of Operational 
           Test and Evaluation, all of the Department of Defense.
                                                            SR-222
       Foreign Relations
         To hold hearings on Richard Holbrooke, of New York, to be 
           Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian 
           Affairs, Eileen A. Malloy, of Connecticut, to be 
           Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, and James W. 
           Swihart, Jr., of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the 
           Republic of Lithuania.
                                                            SD-419

                               AUGUST 11
     8:30 a.m.
       Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
       Agricultural Research, Conservation, Forestry and General 
           Legislation Subcommittee
         To hold hearings on the Administration's proposed 
           legislation on meat and poultry inspection.
                                                            SR-332
     9:30 a.m.
       Commerce, Science, and Transportation
         To hold oversight hearings on the activities of the 
           Olympic Committee.
                                                            SR-253
     2:00 p.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings to examine the military implications of 
           the Convention on Chemical Weapons.
                                                            SR-222
       Environment and Public Works
         To hold hearings on proposed legislation authorizing 
           funds for programs of the Economic Development 
           Administration.
                                                            SD-406
       Judiciary
         To hold hearings on pending nominations.
                                                            SD-226

                               AUGUST 12
     8:30 a.m.
       Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
       Agricultural Research, Conservation, Forestry and General 
           Legislation Subcommittee
         To continue hearings on the Administration's proposed 
           legislation on meat and poultry inspection.
                                                            SR-385
     10:00 a.m.
       Judiciary
       Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks Subcommittee
         To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on the 
           Judiciary's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and 
           Judicial Administration on the implementation of the 
           intellectual property provisions of the General 
           Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
                                             2237 Rayburn Building

                             POSTPONEMENTS

                               AUGUST 12
     2:00 p.m.
       Veterans' Affairs
         Business meeting, to consider the nomination of Linda 
           Marie Hooks, of Georgia, to be an Assistant Secretary 
           of Veterans Affairs (Acquisition and Facilities), and 
           to mark up pending legislation.
                                                            SR-418