[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 99 (Thursday, July 11, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. 
        Franken):
  S. 1286. 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. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Medicaid Information Technology to Enhance Community Health Act of 
2013, or the MITECH Act. I am proud to be joined by my colleagues 
Senator Franken and Senator Whitehouse in introducing this important 
piece of legislation which would help clinics and health care providers 
serving our Nation's most vulnerable citizens qualify for incentives to 
adopt meaningful use electronic health records for their patients.
  In recent years, Congress has recognized the benefits of implementing 
electronic health records in our health care system. Countless experts 
have determined that electronic health records and other forms of 
health information technology improve health care quality, reduce 
medical errors, and lower overall medical costs. We have made 
unprecedented investments in electronic health records and have seen 
the benefits of these investments. Since its implementation, these 
programs have helped hundreds of thousands of providers and hospitals 
nationwide establish and effectively use electronic health records. 
However, eligibility requirements for these incentives payments have 
prevented some low-income providers from receiving them.
  While electronic health records are a vital part of any quality 
health practice, they are in some ways even more important for clinics 
that serve low income, uninsured, and underinsured populations. These 
patients often seek services from any number of settings rather than 
returning to a set primary care provider. When the clinics that serve a 
particular population are able to establish and maintain electronic 
health records for their patients, it is far more likely that a 
patient's record will be available to their health care providers even 
if the patient is seeing a different provider in a different clinic. 
This allows an individual's health care providers to have access to a 
complete medical history, improving their ability to form a diagnosis, 
preventing unnecessary duplication of tests, and reducing costs for the 
patients and government. This measure also will allow safety net 
clinics to better communicate with patients about necessary screenings 
and help to make sure patients are taking medications as prescribed and 
not ``doctor shopping'' for inappropriate medication.
  The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, 
HITECH, Act created financial incentives called ``meaningful use'' 
incentives for both Medicare and Medicaid providers to adopt and 
meaningfully use implement and support electronic health records. While 
the current program has helped thousands of providers, practices, and 
hospitals nationwide, many safety net providers and clinics have not 
been able to benefit from the incentives. 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 patient threshold 
required to participate in the Medicaid electronic health records 
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 the HITECH Act for those providers. 
Unfortunately, the law failed to provide similar support for other 
providers serving low-income individuals.
  The MITECH Act of 2013 seeks to eliminate these barriers, which 
prevent many safety net providers from qualifying for Medicaid 
electronic health record incentive payments. The bill will improve 
access to incentives for safety net providers that were left out of the 
HITECH Act's efforts. Additionally, the MITECH Act requires the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a methodology to 
allow these safety net clinics to be eligible for payments as an 
entity, similar to the current process that exists for hospitals.
  Access to Medicaid electronic health records incentives will allow 
safety net clinics to better communicate with patients about necessary 
screenings, help ensure compliance with prescription drugs, reduce 
unnecessary duplication of tests and will strengthen the safety net 
which provides essential care to so many Americans.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. In doing so, we will offer 
vital support to safety net providers.
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