Senate drops proposed expansion of 'meaningful use'

Senate leaders apparently have stripped out a provision in a jobs bill introduced last week that would have made hospital-based physicians eligible for federal EMR subsidies under bipartisan jobs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act currently restricts "meaningful use" payments to hospitals and office-based physicians; hospital-based doctors are excluded because they depend on the organization's facilities.

The original legislation--the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act--co-sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa)--would have remove part of the exclusion. Physicians who work in inpatient settings or in emergency departments still would not have qualified for Medicare incentives of up to $44,000 over five years, reports Government Health IT.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced what he called "a simplified, focused bill" that concentrates on job creation while not addressing the health IT stimulus program.

Health Data Management reports that many people in Washington and within the health IT industry believe the original intent of ARRA was to include doctors in hospital-owned outpatient facilities.

To learn more:
- see this Government Health IT story
- check out this Health Data Management piece

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