Assessment of Proposed Rules for Stage 2 of “Meaningful Use” in Light of Bipartisan Policy Center’s Report “Transforming Health Care: The Role of Health IT”

With an unprecedented investment of nearly $30 billion in health information technology (IT) brought about by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and the advancement of new delivery system and payment models, the U.S. has the opportunity to make significant progress toward health care’s triple aim of improving health, improving the experience of care, and reducing costs. 

At the three-year anniversary of HITECH, it is clear that the health care landscape is changing. Spurred by rising costs, inconsistent quality and eroding coverage, coordinated, accountable and patient-centered models of care delivery – previously implemented by only a handful of organizations – are now poised for more widespread adoption. Initiatives launched by the federal government, numerous states and communities, and private sector providers and health plans designed to test new methods of payment and delivery are driving significant change to promote much-needed improvements in the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) commends the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for continuing to advance—through two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs—informally referred to as “Meaningful Use”—the health information foundation needed for new models of care.

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