long-term care providers, and other providers; 
and 
‘‘(C) measures which may inform health 
care decisions made by consumers and patients. 
‘‘(3) RISK ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary shall 
establish procedures to account for differences in pa-
tient health status, patient characteristics, and geo-
graphic location. To the extent practicable, such pro-
cedures shall recognize existing procedures. 
‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary shall, as 
determined appropriate, but in no case more often 
than once during each 12-month period, update the 
quality measures, including through the addition of 
more accurate and precise measures and the retire-
ment of existing outdated measures. 
‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP
WITH
PROGRAMS
UNDER 
THE
SOCIAL
SECURITY
ACT.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that the quality measures developed under 
this section— 
‘‘(A) complement quality measures devel-
oped by the Secretary under programs adminis-
tered by the Secretary under the Social Security 
Act, including programs under titles XVIII, 
XIX, and XXI of such Act; and
‘‘(B) do not conflict with the needs and 
priorities of the programs under titles XVIII, 
XIX, and XXI of such Act, as set forth by the 
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services. 
‘‘(c) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS IN DEVELOPING 
AND UPDATING THE MEASURES.—In developing and up-
dating the quality measures under this section, the Sec-
retary may take into account— 
‘‘(1) any demonstration or pilot program con-
ducted by the Secretary relating to measuring and 
rewarding quality and efficiency of care; 
‘‘(2) any existing activities conducted by the 
Secretary relating to measuring and rewarding qual-
ity and efficiency; 
‘‘(3) any existing activities conducted by private 
entities, including health insurance plans and 
payors; 
‘‘(4) the report by the Institute of Medicine of 
the National Academy of Sciences under section 
238(b) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improve-
ment, and Modernization Act of 2003; and 
‘‘(5) issues of data collection and reporting, in-
cluding the feasibility of collecting and reporting 
data on measures.
‘‘(d) SOLICITATION OF ADVICE AND RECOMMENDA-
TIONS.—On and after July 1, 2006, the Secretary shall 
consult with the following regarding the development, up-
dating, and use of quality measures developed under this 
section: 
‘‘(1) Health insurance plans and health care 
providers, including such plans and providers with 
experience in the care of the frail elderly and indi-
viduals with multiple complex chronic conditions, or 
groups representing such health insurance plans and 
providers. 
‘‘(2) Groups representing patients and con-
sumers. 
‘‘(3) Purchasers and employers or groups rep-
resenting purchasers or employers. 
‘‘(4) Organizations that focus on quality im-
provement as well as the measurement and reporting 
of quality measures. 
‘‘(5) Organizations that certify and license 
health care providers. 
‘‘(6) State government public health programs. 
‘‘(7) Individuals or entities skilled in the con-
duct and interpretation of biomedical, health serv-
ices, and health economics research and with exper-
tise in outcomes and effectiveness research and tech-
nology assessment. 
‘‘(8) Individuals or entities involved in the de-
velopment and establishment of standards and cer-
tification for health information technology systems 
and clinical data. 
‘‘(9) Individuals or entities with experience 
with— 
‘‘(A) urban health care issues; 
‘‘(B) safety net health care issues; and 
‘‘(C) rural and frontier health care issues. 
‘‘(e) USE OF QUALITY MEASURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of activities 
conducted or supported by the Secretary under this 
Act, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 
adopt and utilize the quality measures developed 
under this section. 
‘‘(2) COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS.—With re-
spect to activities conducted or supported by the 
Secretary under this Act, the Secretary may estab-
lish collaborative agreements with private entities, 
including group health plans and health insurance 
issuers, providers, purchasers, consumer organiza-
tions, and entities receiving a grant under section 
2905, to—
‘‘(A) encourage the use of the quality 
measures adopted by the Secretary under this 
section; and 
‘‘(B) foster uniformity between the health 
care quality measures utilized by private enti-
ties. 
‘‘(3) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall imple-
ment procedures to enable the Department of 
Health and Human Services to accept the electronic 
submission of data for purposes of— 
‘‘(A) quality measurement using the qual-
ity measures developed under this section and 
using the standards adopted by the Federal 
Government under section 2903; and 
‘‘(B) for reporting measures used to make 
value-based payments under programs under 
the Social Security Act. 
‘‘(f) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—Beginning 
on January 1, 2008, in order to make comparative quality 
information available to health care consumers, health 
professionals, public health officials, researchers, and 
other appropriate individuals and entities, the Secretary 
shall provide for the dissemination, aggregation, and anal-
ysis of quality measures collected under section 2905 and
the dissemination of recommendations and best practices 
derived in part from such analysis. 
‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 
provide technical assistance to public and private entities 
to enable such entities to— 
‘‘(1) implement and use evidence-based guide-
lines with the greatest potential to improve health 
care quality, efficiency, and patient safety; and 
‘‘(2) establish mechanisms for the rapid dis-
semination of information regarding evidence-based 
guidelines with the greatest potential to improve 
health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety. 
‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title 
shall be construed as prohibiting the Secretary, acting 
through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services, from developing quality measures (and 
timing requirements for reporting such measures) for use 
under programs administered by the Secretary under the 
Social Security Act, including programs under titles 
XVIII, XIX, and XXI of such Act.’’. 
SEC. 3. LICENSURE AND THE ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF 
HEALTH INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall carry out, or contract with a private 
entity to carry out, a study that examines—
(1) the variation among State laws that relate 
to the licensure, registration, and certification of 
medical professionals; and 
(2) how such variation among State laws im-
pacts the secure electronic exchange of health infor-
mation— 
(A) among the States; and 
(B) between the States and the Federal 
Government. 
(b) REPORT
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall publish a 
report that— 
(1) describes the results of the study carried 
out under subsection (a); and 
(2) makes recommendations to States regarding 
the harmonization of State laws based on the results 
of such study. 
SEC. 4. ENSURING PRIVACY AND SECURITY. 
Nothing in this Act (or the amendments made by this 
Act) shall be construed to affect the scope, substance, or 
applicability of— 
(1) section 264 of the Health Insurance Port-
ability and Accountability Act of 1996;
(2) sections 1171 through 1179 of the Social 
Security Act; and 
(3) any regulation issued pursuant to any such 
section. 
SEC. 5. GAO STUDY. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report on the necessity and 
workability of requiring health plans (as defined in section 
1171 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d)), 
health care clearinghouses (as defined in such section 
1171), and health care providers (as defined in such sec-
tion 1171) who transmit health information in electronic 
form, to notify patients if their individually identifiable 
health information (as defined in such section 1171) is 
wrongfully disclosed. 
SEC. 6. STUDY OF REIMBURSEMENT INCENTIVES. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
carry out, or contract with a private entity to carry out, 
a study that examines methods to create efficient reim-
bursement incentives for improving health care quality in 
Federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and 
free clinics.
SEC. 7. HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE 
CENTER. 
Section 914 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 299b–3) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) HEALTH
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
RE-
SOURCE CENTER.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director, shall develop a Health Infor-
mation Technology Resource Center to provide tech-
nical assistance and develop best practices to sup-
port and accelerate efforts to adopt, implement, and 
effectively use interoperable health information tech-
nology in compliance with section 2903 and 2907. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the Center is 
to— 
‘‘(A) provide a forum for the exchange of 
knowledge and experience; 
‘‘(B) accelerate the transfer of lessons 
learned from existing public and private sector 
initiatives, including those currently receiving 
Federal financial support; 
‘‘(C) assemble, analyze, and widely dis-
seminate evidence and experience related to the 
adoption, implementation, and effective use of 
interoperable health information technology;
‘‘(D) provide for the establishment of re-
gional and local health information networks to 
facilitate the development of interoperability 
across health care settings and improve the 
quality of health care; 
‘‘(E) provide for the development of solu-
tions to barriers to the exchange of electronic 
health information; and 
‘‘(F) conduct other activities identified by 
the States, local or regional health information 
networks, or health care stakeholders as a focus 
for developing and sharing best practices. 
‘‘(3) SUPPORT
FOR
ACTIVITIES.—To provide 
support for the activities of the Center, the Director 
shall modify the requirements, if necessary, that 
apply to the National Resource Center for Health 
Information Technology to provide the necessary in-
frastructure to support the duties and activities of 
the Center and facilitate information exchange 
across the public and private sectors. 
‘‘(4) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to require the du-
plication of Federal efforts with respect to the estab-
lishment of the Center, regardless of whether such
efforts were carried out prior to or after the enact-
ment of this subsection. 
‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TELEPHONE NUMBER 
OR WEBSITE.—The Secretary shall establish a toll-free 
telephone number or Internet website to provide health 
care providers and patients with a single point of contact 
to— 
‘‘(1) learn about Federal grants and technical 
assistance services related to interoperable health in-
formation technology; 
‘‘(2) learn about qualified health information 
technology and the quality measures adopted by the 
Federal Government under sections 2903 and 2907; 
‘‘(3) learn about regional and local health infor-
mation networks for assistance with health informa-
tion technology; and 
‘‘(4) disseminate additional information deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated, such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to carry 
out this subsection.’’.
SEC. 8. REAUTHORIZATION OF INCENTIVE GRANTS RE-
GARDING TELEMEDICINE. 
Section 330L(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254c–18(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘2002 through 
2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2006 through 2010’’. 
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