March 2016
Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee Releases Draft Health IT Legislation
In February, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R, TN) and ranking member Patty Murray (D, WA) released draft legislation for feedback aimed at making electronic health records (EHR) more functional and interoperable. This bipartisan legislation was submitted as part of a package of bills to serve as a companion to 21st Century Cures legislation that was passed by the House of Representatives last year and was designed to increase citizen access to science. The bill plans to simplify the documentation process and establish a universal rating system for all health information technology products, creating a framework and common agreement for secure, HIPAA compliant exchanges of health information across EHR networks further aiding health research.
In February, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R, TN) and ranking member Patty Murray (D, WA) released draft legislation for feedback aimed at making electronic health records (EHR) more functional and interoperable. This bipartisan legislation was submitted as part of a package of bills to serve as a companion to 21st Century Cures legislation that was passed by the House of Representatives last year and was designed to increase citizen access to science. The bill plans to simplify the documentation process and establish a universal rating system for all health information technology products, creating a framework and common agreement for secure, HIPAA compliant exchanges of health information across EHR networks further aiding health research.
Hallways to Health Act Proposed to Strengthen School Based Health Care Centers for Children
The Hallways to Health act, proposed by United States senators Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) and Gary Peters (D, MI) aims to fortify the more than 2,300 school based health care centers that provide critical services to children who might not have access otherwise. The act would create a grant system for these health centers to utilize community health workers to engage the children and their families in creating healthy lifestyles. Community health workers would work in parallel to the health centers, providing outreach services to help families navigate the healthcare system and connect them to community resources. Additionally, the act would set up tele-health infrastructure for areas that lack community health centers and have high utilization of emergency rooms for community healthcare needs. This would be most beneficial in rural areas, which tend to have limited behavioral and health care services available within the community. The act would also serve to ensure that school-based health care workers would be eligible to receive reimbursement from public health insurance programs such as Medicaid and CHIP.
The Hallways to Health act, proposed by United States senators Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) and Gary Peters (D, MI) aims to fortify the more than 2,300 school based health care centers that provide critical services to children who might not have access otherwise. The act would create a grant system for these health centers to utilize community health workers to engage the children and their families in creating healthy lifestyles. Community health workers would work in parallel to the health centers, providing outreach services to help families navigate the healthcare system and connect them to community resources. Additionally, the act would set up tele-health infrastructure for areas that lack community health centers and have high utilization of emergency rooms for community healthcare needs. This would be most beneficial in rural areas, which tend to have limited behavioral and health care services available within the community. The act would also serve to ensure that school-based health care workers would be eligible to receive reimbursement from public health insurance programs such as Medicaid and CHIP.