March 2, 2006
BREAKFAST
BRIEFING WITH
congressWOMAN
NANCY JOHNSON
The Capitol Hill
Club
This
morning over
60 members
of The Ripon
Society
gathered at
the Capitol
Hill Club
over
breakfast to
hear U.S.
Representative
Nancy
Johnson
speak.
Congresswoman
Johnson
began by
highlighting
some of the
current
priorities
of the 109th
Congress,
including
the Tax
Relief
Extension
Act and the
importance
of
maintaining tax
incentives
that create
jobs and
help
Americans
save for
retirement.
Congresswoman
Johnson next
spoke about
her recent
bill, the
"Health
Information
Technology
Promotion
Act of
2005," and
about the
recent
Medicare
advances.
The Health
Information
Technology
Promotion
Act of 2005
is aimed at
creating a
secure,
nationwide
health
information
and
electronic
medical
record
system.
 Congresswoman
Johnson used
the analogy,
"when you've
put money
into a bank
in
California,
you can take
it out
anywhere -
provided
it's
yours." She
is working
to create a
health IT
system that
would treat
medical
records in a
similar
manner. So,
if a patient
from
California
is admitted
to a
hospital in
Connecticut,
the doctors
in the
emergency
room would
be able to
pull up
the a
complete and
accurate
patient
record.
With the
rapid
advancements
of
technology,
the
Congresswoman
pointed out,
it is
difficult to
create a
uniform
system, but
it is not an
incomprehensible
task.
Having a
centralized
and
universally
compatible
system would
streamline
the costs of
training for
hospital
employees
and doctors,
but it would
be a
substantial
initial
investment.
"Once in a
while the
government
gets the
right
technology
at the right
time,"
Congresswoman
Johnson
said, "but,
if everybody
isn't at the
same level
at the same
time, the
technology
becomes too
complicated."
"This
technology
bill is
modest, but
lays the
groundwork
for the
possibility
of
controlling
healthcare
costs." The
Congresswoman
continued
and
explained
that, "the
pace of
change
is
extraordinary,
and without
technology,
we don't
have a
chance of
keeping up
with it."
In relation
to Medicare,
she pointed
out that
this
technology
will make a
big
difference
for
seniors.
Eventually,
it will keep
all of their
medical
records in
one "home
base"
where their
physicians
can
coordinate
patient care
and prevent
medical
errors.
Congresswoman
Johnson then
took
questions
from the
Ripon
Society
members
present and
explained
advantages
to the
Medicare
Prescription
Drug
Coverage
that many
seniors have
recently
enrolled
in. She
ended with a
story of one
of her
constituents
who will
save $2,000
a year with
the new
coverage.
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