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Aug. 24, 2009
Here's your regular update on efforts by the American Medical Association (AMA) to work with lawmakers in reforming the nation's health care system in a way that provides quality, affordable health care for all.
Senate negotiations continue
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has been continuing bipartisan negotiations during the August congressional recess in an attempt to reach an agreement on health system reform legislation. Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has publicly stated his hope of reaching consensus on the legislation by Sept. 15, although there are signs that this goal may slip. It is unclear how Baucus and the Democratic leadership will proceed if an agreement is not reached by then.
Potentially complicating those negotiations, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the minority whip, recently spoke out against the idea of nonprofit insurance cooperatives, which some committee members favor as an alternative to establishing a public plan to compete with private health insurers.
Availability of health IT funds announced
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made a long-awaited announcement last week regarding the availability of $1.2 billion in Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act funding to help physicians and hospitals implement and use electronic health records. During a roundtable discussion on health system reform, Vice President Joe Biden, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and David Blumenthal, MD, director of the HHS Office of National Coordinator (ONC), provided details about two grant programs—the Health IT Regional Extension Program and the State Health Information Exchange Program.
Under the Health IT Regional Extension Program, HHS will award $598 million in fiscal year 2010 to support the creation of 70 Health IT Regional Extension Centers. These centers will help support physicians and hospitals in their adoption of systems which allow them to become meaningful users of health IT. Learn more about the program. Meantime, the State Health Information Exchange Program will award $564 million to states and qualified "state designated entities" to develop and advance mechanisms for information sharing. Learn more about this program.
Additional information about both programs is available on the ONC Web site.
New AMA resources available
The AMA's new health system reform Web site contains resources for not only physicians but for their patients, too. By selecting the "resources" tab, physicians can download documents about medical liability reform, graduate medical education and the physician work force, and status and procedures for federal health system reform. A frequently updated question-and-answer document about the House health reform legislation, H.R. 3200, is also available. Resources for patients include a flier describing what health system reform would mean for patients, a document containing a list of answers to frequently asked questions by patients, and a resource detailing every component of health system reform for patients, from health insurance market reforms to comparative effectiveness research. And to help debunk some of the myths that patients have about health system reform, the AMA developed a Virtual Town Hall video, in which AMA members answer commonly asked questions. Check out the AMA's Facebook page and Twitter site to get the latest AMA happenings in health system reform via ongoing live updates.
Physician outreach efforts ongoing
AMA leaders continue to conduct a series of regional tele-town hall Physicians' Forums to respond to members' questions about health system reform legislation and the AMA's advocacy efforts. Physicians' Forums are planned through the first week of September, and a schedule of upcoming forums are listed under the "Important dates" section of this newsletter. In addition, AMA Immediate Past President Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, will share the AMA's perspective on health system reform with physician leaders and the media in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids, Mich., tomorrow, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Aug. 26, as part of the AMA's National House Call campaign.
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