The U.S. Senate passed its spending bill for the Defense, Labor, Education and HHS departments Aug. 23, with several nods to genomic testing, telehealth and EHRs, according to the Politico Morning eHealth newsletter.
Here are five health IT-related amendments to the Senate's spending package:
1. The bill requires HHS Secretary Alex Azar to update Congress on the agency's rulemaking progress regarding health IT certification and information blocking as laid out in the 21st Century Cures Act.
2. The proposal establishes funds for telehealth and EHR pilots to improve obstetric care for women in rural areas.
3. Another amendment requires Mr. Azar to report when CMS pays entities in China or Russia to process genome data.
4. Mr. Azar would be required to establish a rule mandating direct-to-consumer drug ads include pricing information.
5. The National Institutes for Health budget would increase by $2 billion, making "America more competitive in science and technology,” the group said, according to Politico.
The House has yet to pass its own spending bill.