In his weekly address on Saturday, President-elect Barack Obama touted health IT as part of his economic stimulus plan, Healthcare IT News reports.
He said, "To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our health care system to cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes and help reduce health care costs by billions of dollars each year."
During his campaign, Obama pledged to allocate $10 billion annually for five years to promote the adoption and use of health IT (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 1/5).
Timeline for Economic Stimulus Package
Congressional leaders had hoped to have an economic stimulus package that includes funds for health care programs for Obama to sign after he takes office on Jan. 20, but that "looks increasingly doubtful as the legislation grows in complexity and size," the Washington Post reports.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) have estimated that passage of a stimulus package could take six more weeks (Murray, Washington Post, 1/5). According to Hoyer, Obama likely would not receive the stimulus package until mid-February (Baker/Hulse, New York Times, 1/5).
This week, Obama plans to deliver a speech to outline his stimulus package priorities (Washington Post, 1/5). In addition, Obama on Monday plans to meet with congressional leaders to discuss the stimulus package (Lee, The Politico, 1/2).
On Wednesday, the Steering and Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus will hold a hearing on the stimulus package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said (Russell Chaddock, Christian Science Monitor, 1/5).