OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Industry pushes to improve sharing of patient data

by Ferdous Al-Faruque - 06/24/14 7:10 PM ET

Health industry leaders gathered on Tuesday said they would like to see legislation that would allow more sharing of patient data, but lawmakers said they were worried about “nefarious” use of the data to target individuals.

Industry leaders at a roundtable discussion at the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked lawmakers to allow electronic medical records companies to charge physician’s offices for transferring patient records, help improve cloud computing and invest in more federal medical research.

{mosads}Speakers said sharing more data would change the healthcare system from one that relies on “evidence-based practice” to one that uses “practice-based evidence,” and would lower medical mistakes.

While sharing medical data can help healthcare providers personalize medicine, lawmakers said they were worried about the privacy implications.

“Congress has been snooping and leaking any information for political gain,” warned Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.). “You take the same thing and you transfer it to medicine, how much more scary is that?”

He and other lawmakers said it is important that future data-sharing processes can be trusted by patients. http://bit.ly/1lnTsHi

Migrant surge pressures HHS: Responsibility for dealing with the massive flood of illegal immigrant children on the southern border has fallen to a government agency that fumbled ObamaCare’s rollout — the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The number of children caught crossing the Mexican border without an adult has jumped tenfold and is overwhelming officials charged with caring for them in federal custody.

HHS’s obscure Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program handled about 6,000 to 8,000 children a year between 2003 and 2011 while they were readied for deportation or took their cases to court.

But a new wave of immigrants from Central America means the workload could soar to 90,000 unaccompanied kids this fiscal year and 127,000 in 2015, advocates told The Hill. http://bit.ly/1o0CLkY

Expanded emergency abortion coverage: The House Appropriations Committee voted to lift the ban on emergency abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers in a surprise win for abortion-rights advocates.

The Republican-led panel approved an amendment Tuesday that would allow women in the Peace Corps to receive abortion coverage for pregnancies arising from rape or incest or that endanger the woman’s life.

The amendment is now attached to the State Department spending bill for fiscal 2015. It was approved by voice vote, without an official record of the members who opposed it. http://bit.ly/1q5WV0k

SBA List gunning for Kagan: The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List is launching a new ad campaign accusing Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) of holding a “fringe position” on late-term abortion.

The anti-abortion group announced Tuesday that it will spend $100,000 on a television ad buy in the race to replace Hagan with conservative North Carolina state House Speaker Thom Tillis (R).

Hagan is considered one of Congress’s most vulnerable members this cycle, and her seat is crucial for Democrats as they work to keep the Senate.

In response, a bevy of liberal women’s groups are hoping to boost Hagan with the same “war on women” strategy that brought Planned Parenthood a nearly perfect return on its political spending in 2012.

EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood Votes are planning to spend heavily against Tillis, promising to devote $3 million each to the race and launch aggressive on-the-ground outreach to voters. . http://bit.ly/1mkyV6S

Healthcare spending to grow: As the economy improves people are starting to pay more for healthcare which will help spending in the industry grow 6.8 percent next year according to a new report

PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) analyzed employer provided healthcare spending. Noting that spending in the health industry contracted in the past five years after the recession, the report indicated the tides are finally turning.

According to their report, as the economy has improved people feel more financially confident to get medical help and stop delaying treatments. This in turn means they are spending more on healthcare.

“At first glance, the health sector appears to be reverting to historical patterns of bouncing back as the nation recovers from the economic doldrums,” the report said.

“Whether spending more freely because of the improved economy or shopping with insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act, consumers triggered the first bump in growth in the first quarter of 2014,” it continued. “We expect that to continue through next year.” http://bit.ly/1miudqe

Wednesday’s schedule:

The Supreme Court will release a handful of its remaining decisions, including possible rulings on abortion clinic buffer zones and ObamaCare’s contraception mandate.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will mark up autism research and services legislation.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing on fraud and abuse in Medicare.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on brain injuries and aging-related disease.

The Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus will hold a briefing on understanding dietary supplement labels.

Hillary Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the BIO International Convention in San Diego.

State by state:

Va. House tosses out McAuliffe’s Medicaid veto: http://bit.ly/1yL7fx4

Early results mixed for Oregon Medicaid changes: http://bit.ly/TgFXh7

1.3M Montanans affected by state data breach: http://bit.ly/Vllt8U

SC hospitals commit to tackle C-section rates: http://bit.ly/1iCKnuF

Lobbying registration:

Squire Patton Boggs/ The University of Miami