The Senate's Wired Act: On Hold, or Not?

January 28, 2008

Many stakeholders across Washington D.C. have been laboring under the belief that Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) placed an official "hold" on the Wired for Health Care Quality Act, preventing it from reaching the Senate floor last year. Some Capitol Hill staff dispute this fact. What's the latest status?

On July 18th of this year, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bill, "Health Information Privacy and Security Act," focused on privacy protections for electronic health information. Senator Leahy has been concerned about allowing the Senate's Wired for Health Care Quality Act to proceed without first considering the addition of more robust privacy provisions.

In meetings on Capitol Hill this week, the eHealth Initiative learned that Senator Leahy apparent never had an official hold on the bill. However, upon hearing that the Wired Act would be "hotlined," or placed in the cue for consideration on the floor by the full Senate, Leahy reportedly approached Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to request that the bill not be hotlined without consideration of an amendment to the Wired Act related to privacy. Negotiations began over the text of that amendment between HELP and Judiciary staff, but no agreement has yet been reached.

While holds on the Wired Act were rumored to be from both Democrats and Republicans at various points, the Wired Act was never officially hotlined, which would have given Senators the opportunity to place a hold on the bill if they had concerns.  However, the bill's progress has been nonetheless stalled.

The "Health Information Privacy and Security Act," would allow every patient to decide when and to whom their health information is disclosed. Patients would also be granted the ability to inspect, modify, correct or copy any protected health information concerning them, regardless of where that record is kept. Opt-out provisions for participation in health information exchange systems are also outlined in the bill. Exceptions are included for de-identified data, and for patient-identifiable data that is used for public health purposes.  The bill also calls for the creation of an "Office of Health Information Privacy" within HHS, while other portions of the bill address regulations regarding use and disclosure of patient information with the exception of de-identified health information.

In terms of the outlook for the Wired Act in 2008, the HELP-Judiciary committee staff dialogue is ongoing, and HELP staff continue to want to move the bill this year if the sticking points over privacy can be resolved. eHI's conversations with Hill staff this week indicate that common ground between the two camps may be possible.

For more information, contact Christine.Bechtel@ehealthinitiative.org.