President Issues Executive Order On Health Information Technology and Transparency In Pricing.

President Bush issued an Executive Order today requiring Federal Agencies administering or sponsoring Federal health care programs to implement new guidelines to enhance health information technology development and to force transparency in billing practices. The Order requires Federal agencies to utilize health information technology systems and products that meet "recognized interoperability standards." (Whatever that means). It requires such agencies to require in future contracts or agreements with health care providers, health plans or health insurance issuers that as each provider, plan or issuer implements, acquires, or upgrades health information technology systems, it shall utilize, where available, systems that meet "recognized interoperability standards."  The Order requires the agencies to implement programs measuring the quality of services supplied by health care providers to beneficiaries  based upon standards established by "multi-stakeholder entities" (whoever they are), identified by the Secretary or another agency subject to the Order. Each agency must develop its metrics in collaboration with similar initiatives in the private and non-Federal public sectors.  Each agency must make available to the beneficiaries or enrollees of a Federal program the prices that its health insurance issuers , or its health insurance plans pay for procedures to providers in the health care program. Each agency must also participate in the development of information regarding the overall costs of services for common episode of  care and the treatment of common chronic diseases.  Each agency shall develop and identify approaches that encourage and facilitate the provision and receipt of high-quality and efficient health care including  pay for performance models and consumer-directed health care insurance products.  (All this is to be accomplished without any additional funding.) The effective date is January 1, 2007, for new contracts in the regular contracting cycle.