FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,Tuesday, June 12, 2007
CONTACT: Yoni Cohen, Stark (202) 225-3202

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Pete Stark (CA-13), Chairman of the
Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today criticized Michael Leavitt,
Secretary of Health and Human Services, for announcing his intention to
privatize the government’s leading advisory committee on health
information technology. Since its creation in 2005, American Health
Information Community (AHIC) has operated as a government body advising
the Department of Health and Human Services on how to accelerate the
development and adoption of health information technology.

“Secretary Leavitt wants the blind to lead the blind,” said Stark. “If
the private sector was interested in developing or able to promote
interoperable standards for health information technology, it would have
done so years ago – and private companies wouldn’t today be asking the
government to pay for it. Self-interested private firms have and will
continue to fight among themselves over specifics, further delaying the
adoption of money saving and lifesaving technologies. It is well past
time for federal leadership to fix this market failure.”

“Unfortunately, President Bush is more interested in his ideological
crusade against our government than he is in promoting quality health
care,” continued Stark. “That’s part of the reason AHIC is acting like a
toothless tiger and has made little progress toward national standards.
The Bush Administration’s desire to privatize the government’s leading
advisory committee on health information technology is consistent with
Republican attempts to privatize Medicare. Both actions take American
health care in the wrong direction.”