[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S5504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Talent):
  S. 3454. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve 
the exchange of healthcare information through the use of technology, 
to encourage the creation, use and maintenance of lifetime electronic 
health records that may contain health plan and debit card 
functionality in independent health record banks, to use such records 
to build a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, and 
to promote participation in health information exchange by consumers 
through tax incentives and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that would address one of the most critical issues facing Americans 
today, that of rising health care costs. America's collective health 
care bill represents an increasing percentage of the GDP and, at the 
same time, mortality rates remain stubbornly high. It is apparent that 
the time has come for innovative health care solutions that will save 
money and save lives.
  Today, I am introducing the Independent Health Record Bank Act of 
2006, a market-driven approach that will save both money and lives by 
creating a self-sustaining National Health Information Network for 
doctors and patients. Rather than continuing to get by with a patchwork 
system of paper records that contributes to medical errors and high 
cost, this legislation creates a nationwide system of secure electronic 
health records. Under the Independent Health Record Bank Act, ownership 
of the record is truly independent and consumer-focused, as this type 
of bank provides the objective service of sustaining individual 
electronic health records, much like the way financial institutions 
maintain assets. This consumer-driven approach will offer Americans 
portable and electronic health records over their lifetime at little to 
no cost, with specific, established measures for privacy and security.
  We saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when medical records 
and lab results were literally washed away, that the current system of 
paper records can prove to be cumbersome at best, and fatal at worst. 
Americans should have the ability to access their health records as 
easily as they access their bank accounts--through the use of a 
national IT network administered by cooperative, not-for-profit 
institutions. I urge my colleagues to support this effort through 
cosponsorship of this important legislation.
                                 ______