House Makes Historic Progress on Unique Patient ID Efforts
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6.13.2019 Leslie Krigstein – VP, Congressional Affairs |
Great news! Yesterday evening the House passed an amendment that would remove a prohibition on funding for a national patient identification strategy. Our members have seen that 20-year prohibition as a barrier to interoperability and a risk to patient safety. Thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone.
We commend U.S. Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), the sponsors of the amendment, for their leadership on this critical patient safety issue. Reps. Foster and Kelly took to the House floor, with the Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-Health and Human Services (Labor-H), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), to highlight the patient care implications of addressing patient identification in a meaningful way with the passage of this amendment.
The House will now need to vote on the full Appropriations package, which is expected next week; it will then be sent over to the Senate for consideration.
This journey is far from over, but the vote taken last night is the most significant step forward in dismantling the policy barriers that have handcuffed our industry for 20 years. We’ll need your help as we continue our efforts. You can visit CHIME Media to watch the House proceedings and be sure to look for updates in this newsletter and our weekly Debrief.