Congress Leaders Doris Matsui, Bill Johnson and Greg Gianforte to Speak at CHIME Advocacy Summit
ANN ARBOR, MI, June 3, 2019 – Three members of Congress will discuss healthcare IT initiatives at a conference hosted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) will discuss telehealth, cybersecurity and health IT innovation at the second annual CHIME Advocacy Summit on June 26-28 in Washington, D.C.
Matsui, who has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005, has sponsored or co-sponsored several telehealth and IT-related bills, including the:
- Evidence-Based Telehealth Expansion Act
- Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013
- Access to Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorders Act
- Blockchain Promotion Act of 2018
- Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (ECHO Act) and
- HHS Cybersecurity Modernization Act.
Matsui was instrumental in crafting the Affordable Care Act as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees healthcare. She is a leader in Congress on the rapidly growing issue of telehealth and is the author of the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act, which was signed into law in 2014. She also serves on the bipartisan Telehealth Working Group, is a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Spectrum Caucus and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional High Tech Caucus.
Johnson has represented the Sixth Congressional District in Ohio since 2010. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he served as director of the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer Staff at U.S. Special Operations Command. Since joining Congress, Johnson has been a leading voice on technology issues. He has been a telehealth leader, serving on both the Energy and Commerce Telehealth Working Group and the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Telehealth Caucus that recently issued a request for information to stakeholders on how to expand access to telehealth and remote patient monitoring.
He’s sponsored several telehealth bills in recent years, including the:
- Evidence-Based Telehealth Expansion Act
- Access to Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorders Act, and
- Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013.
Gianforte has represented Montana’s at-large congressional district in the House since 2017. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and on subcommittees on communications and technology, consumer protection and commerce, and health. His interests include telehealth and expanding access to and quality of care delivered in rural areas. He is the only Republican to join the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for the 116th Congress.
“Congressional interest in health IT issues has skyrocketed in recent years,” said Cletis Earle, chair of the CHIME Public Policy Steering Committee and senior vice president and CIO at Kaleida Health. “This year alone we have seen bills, proposed rules and policies come out that address cybersecurity, interoperability, telemedicine and the opioid crisis – topics our members are deeply interested in. We are honored to have three leaders from Congress share their vision for how health IT can help to improve care.”
The program includes speakers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of Civil Rights, the National Health Service (NHS) England, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Trade Commission and more. The agenda is available here.
“The Advocacy Summit provides a great venue to learn first-hand from federal and congressional policymakers,” said Shafiq Rab, MD, chair of the CHIME Board of Trustees and senior vice president and CIO at Rush University Medical Center. “The policies being considered today will change how our members and their organizations provide health and care for the next decade. It is critical that we fully understand the policies and have a voice in their development.”
The CHIME Advocacy Summit is open to the public. More information about the program and registration is available here.
Editor’s note: Members of the media are welcome to attend the CHIME Advocacy Summit. Please email CHIME Director of Communications Candace Stuart at [email protected] with a request to attend.
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,900 members in 51 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
Contact
Candace Stuart
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
734.665.0000