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.Rehab Hospitals Left out of HIT Funding.
.Contact Your Members of Congress Immediately!.
.The Economic Stimulus Legislation, The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, began to move at lightening speed through the House and the Senate this week. The bill provides $20 billion to accelerate the implementation of electronic health records. While the House legislation establishes bonus payments of up to $2 million for hospitals that meet the electronic health records criteria, rehab and acute long-term care hospitals are not eligible. The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to markup its version of the Economic Stimulus Legislation on Tuesday, January 27 at ..10:30am... Time sensitive action needed! .
.It is crucial that you ..call your Senators.. to ask them to personally contact the Senate Finance Committee and Leadership Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Assistant Minority Leader Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and the Senate Finance Committee Leadership Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) ..to ask that the final Economic Stimulus Legislation classify rehab hospitals as eligible for health IT incentive program... Please also ..call and email your House Representative.. and ask them to contact House Leadership House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to ask that Members amend the Economic Stimulus Legislation to make rehabilitation hospitals eligible for health IT incentive program. .
.ASK: Please include rehabilitation hospitals as eligible providers in Section 4312, the Stimulus bills health IT hospital incentive program - Continuity and coordination of care otherwise will be seriously jeopardized. .
.Please use the following talking points when communicating your Members of Congress:.
- .Any comprehensive payment reform cannot be successful if the technological levels and ability to provide/transfer patient information substantially differs within the continuum of hospital acute and post-acute care. .
- .By omitting rehab hospitals from the health IT incentive program, Congress is creating a two-tier hospital system and missing an important opportunity to improve patient health, continuity and care coordination..
- .Electronic medical records significantly enhance patient safety protections for sick and fragile physical and medical rehabilitation patients and ensure the same hospital level of protection in avoiding medical errors (e.g. abnormal lab results, dangerous drug interactions, dosing errors). .
- .Communication and coordination between the acute hospital and rehabilitation hospital provider is critical to ensure a seamless transition for the patient. .
- .Not only is this omission inequitable, but this exclusion would be a missed opportunity to improve patient care that could cost the health care system significantly more in the long run. .
- .Including acute, rehabilitation and long-term care hospitals in health IT platforms would permit these providers to work together to strengthen the health care infrastructure and achieve better outcomes for Medicare patients..
.Eric Rasmussen (202) 456-6055 ([email protected]) OR .
.Carolyn Zollar (202) 223-1925 ([email protected]).
.Carolyn Zollar (202) 223-1925 ([email protected]).
