The Washington Post reports that House Chairman Jon C. Porter (R-NV) plans to introduce legislation that would encourage the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The government program provides health insurance to approximately 8 million federal employees. Porter says providing EMRs to federal employees would encourage private insurers to adopt the technology. The bill would allow private insurers to collect some federal money to help pay for programs. It would also establish a trust fund that would provide payments to physician groups doing business with the government to encourage them to adopt EMR technology.
- see this article from The Washington Post