[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 102 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4157) to 
     amend the Social Security Act to encourage the dissemination, 
     security, confidentiality, and usefulness of health 
     information technology:

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Chairman, I rise today disappointed 
that I must oppose the Republican Health Care Information Technology 
Promotion Act. Developing and implementing a health information 
technology system that reflects the needs of patients and providers 
should be a priority for Congress and should be an issue that can be 
handled in a bipartisan manner. Unfortunately, once again the 
Republican Majority has rejected common-sense and strong public policy 
and instead chosen to support a sham piece of legislation that even the 
Congressional Budget Office states will ``not significantly affect 
either the rate at which the use of health technology will grow or how 
well that technology will be designed and implemented''.
  Information Technology (IT) reform would help decrease medical 
mistakes and would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our 
health care system. However, we must work hard to strike the delicate 
balance between increasing use of electronic medical records and 
maintaining individuals' privacy. It is critical that we ensure 
patients' personal health information is secure and confidential when 
they go to the doctor or check into a hospital.
  The Health Information Technology Promotion Act would codify the 
Office of the Health Information Technology Coordinator within the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--basically maintaining 
the status quo. This legislation fails to contain adequate funding for 
providers to implement EMR, it fails to provide for interoperability of 
system, it fails to address patient privacy protections, and could 
unfortunately open new opportunities for fraud and abuse by providing 
waivers for anti-kickback laws.
  Congress must find a way to move forward with the implementation of 
health technology and protect the American public. For this reason, I 
supported the Dingell-Rangel substitute. This amendment included grants 
for providers, opportunities to leverage private dollars, strong 
patient protections and it maintains our anti-fraud laws. In addition, 
this proposal is nearly identical to the legislation that has already 
passed the Senate unanimously. Unfortunately, the Republican Majority 
is so unwilling to have a full and open discussion about our health 
care system on the House floor, that this amendment was not even 
allowed to be considered during today's debate.
  I oppose H.R. 4157 and urge my colleagues to do the same. Lets reject 
this do-nothing legislation and have a real debate about the health 
care challenges facing American families.

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