[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 123 (Thursday, September 13, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S6342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 3539. A bill to encourage the adoption and use of certified 
electronic health record technology by safety net providers and 
clinics; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
of 2009, ARRA, provided Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to 
providers that adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records, 
EHRs, in their practices. While this program has helped thousands of 
providers, practices, and hospitals nationwide, many safety net 
providers and clinics have not been able to benefit from the Medicaid 
EHR incentives.
  Safety net providers serve as a critical entry point into the health 
care system, and provide essential health care services for millions of 
low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals. Given that Medicaid 
eligibility levels are so low in many States, it is difficult for many 
safety net providers to meet the 30 percent Medicaid threshold required 
to participate in the Medicaid EHR incentive program even though their 
patients are predominately low-income. Congress addressed this problem 
only for practitioners working in federally-qualified health centers 
and rural health centers by creating a 30 percent ``needy'' threshold 
in ARRA for those providers. Unfortunately, ARRA fails to provide a 
similar standard for other providers serving low-income individuals.
  The Medicaid Information Technology to Enhance Community Health, 
MITECH, Act of 2012 seeks to eliminate the barriers that prevent safety 
net providers from qualifying from Medicaid EHR incentives. 
Specifically, it would expand eligibility for meaningful use incentives 
to providers that practice predominantly in a qualified safety net 
clinic, QSNC. The act defines a QSNC as a clinic or network of clinics 
that is operated by a private non-profit or public entity and that has 
at least 30 percent of its patient volume attributable to needy 
individuals. The act also directs the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to develop a methodology to allow these clinics to be eligible 
for meaningful use payments as an entity, similar to the current 
process that exists for hospitals.
  I would like to thank the 13 national organizations who have been 
integral to the development of this legislation and who have endorsed 
it today, including the Association of State and Territorial Health 
Officials, the HIV Medicine Association, Mental Health America, the 
National Association of Public Hospitals, the National Family Planning 
and Reproductive Health Association, and the Trust for America's 
Health.
  The MITECH Act will allow safety net clinics to better communicate 
with patients about necessary screenings, help ensure compliance with 
prescription drugs, and will strengthen the safety net which provides 
essential care to so many Americans. It is my hope that we can move 
forward with this bill in a bipartisan manner. I ask all of my 
colleagues to support this important legislation.
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