Washington, DC - The Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives unanimously passed today with bipartisan support amendments proposed by Congressman Towns that provide help for medically underserved communities to plan and implement community-based health information systems.  These Amendments were attached to "The Health Information Technology Promotion Act" and will give a wide range of support to community health centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, small health providers, non-profit hospitals and others to improve and coordinate care for the uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved.  The bill will now move to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote possibly by next week.

"We worked in a bipartisan fashion to get these important amendments passed," said Mr. Towns, a 12-term Member of the House of Representatives.  "I know that there are many worthy health providers who may need assistance in terms of making use of health information technology.  This is a good beginning."

 The first amendment provides grants that may be used for the integration of health systems to improve health information technologies and the coordination of care for the uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved.  These grants will be competitive and provide $30 million over two years to community-based providers, who have a demonstrated track record of successful community-wide efforts to improve the quality of care.  The second Amendment asks that federal agencies identify additional funding and support for medically underserved communities so they may adopt and promote the use of health information technologies. 

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