Max Baucus: “I rise to address possible floor consideration of S. 1418, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to enhance the…”

“I rise to address possible floor consideration of S. 1418, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to enhance the adoption of a nationwide interoperable health information technology system and to improve the quality and reduce the costs of health care in the United States. Senator Grassley and I have been working since January with Senators Enzi and Kennedy on issues of quality and health information technology. Together, we introduced two bills on June 30--one that deals with Medicare quality, and another to enhance quality through the widespread adoption of health IT. The latter is S. 1356, the Medicare Value Purchasing Act of 2005, which develops a system of quality measurement and implements pay-for-performance in Medicare. In drafting these two bills, we worked hard to craft language that was complementary rather than contradictory. Ultimately, we viewed these two pieces of policy as working together to build a comprehensive and workable health care quality system. S. 1418 potentially disrupts the work we have done thus far, by including language that will force the duplication of quality measurement systems. It also raises questions about the jurisdictional reach of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Medicare is the dominant payer in health care, with annual spending exceeding $300 billion. Furthermore, it is Medicare's payment systems that are often adopted by private insurance groups.…”