Senate HELP committee issues draft EHR interoperability bill, holds mental health hearing

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today released for comment draft legislation aimed at making electronic health records more interoperable. The bipartisan legislation is part of a package of bills the committee plans to mark up beginning Feb. 9 to serve as a companion to 21st Century Cures legislation passed by the House last year. Among other bills, the Feb. 9 session is slated to consider legislation on Food and Drug Administration regulation of duodenoscopes. Additional mark ups on other bills in the package are scheduled for March 9 and April 6. The committee also plans to consider bipartisan legislation to improve the nation’s mental health system, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said today at a full committee hearing on “Improving the Federal Response to Challenges in Mental Health Care in America.” He and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) are working with Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) to move comprehensive legislation through the appropriate committees and to the Senate floor this year, Alexander said. Cassidy and Murphy last year introduced S. 1945, the Mental Health Reform Act.