Nearly two weeks after receiving a letter from four House Republicans calling for a freeze on all Meaningful Use incentive payments, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius received a similar letter from Republicans in the Senate, Healthcare Informatics reports. The letter--sent by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and John Thune (R-S.D.)--calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to meet with finance, health, education, labor and pensions committees in the Senate, citing that neither CMS nor ONC gave those committees enough time to cover the final rule.
"Fully understanding the next step for this significant federal investment and the decisions made in the final rule are a critical part of fulfilling our role in conducting oversight over this program and representing the concerns of our constituents as elected Members of Congress," the senators write. Article