House Adopts Rule for Health Information Technology Promotion Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kim Olive
(202) 225-2452 (Office)
(202) 420-9493 (Cell)

July 27, 2006

House Adopts Rule for Health Information Technology Promotion Act
Wilson Amendment to Strike Cost Transparency Provision Included

The House of Representatives today adopted the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 4157, the Health Information Technology Promotion Act of 2006. Congressman Joe Wilson’s amendment to strike language requiring hospitals to report the range of private contractual negotiated rates for inpatient services was included.

“I am pleased the Rules Committee recognized the irrelevance and imprudence of the ’price transparency’ provision and ultimately decided to remove it from the underlying bill. The provision’s misguided approach to pricing transparency was not a market solution - in fact, it verged on price fixing.”

Wilson’s amendment was self-executing, meaning it was automatically added to the underlying bill without a separate vote.

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