House Passes Small Business Health IT Financing Bill
On November 18, 2009, the House approved H.R. 3014, the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act. The bill would create a new Small Business Administration loan guarantee program for the purchase of certain health information technology (IT) by eligible health care professionals in solo and small group practices. Health IT supported by the program would include computer hardware, software, and related technology that supports Medicare’s meaningful electronic health record use requirements. The technology must be purchased by an eligible professional to aid in the provision of health care, including electronic medical records, but it does not include IT whose sole use is financial management, maintenance of inventory of basic supplies, or appointment scheduling. The loan guarantee program would provide a 90% guarantee and loan amounts up to $350,000 for an individual practitioner and $2 million for a group practice. The legislation now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
