119-hr2002

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2002 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2002

 To amend title XXX of the Public Health Service Act to establish 
 standards and protocols to improve patient matching.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 10, 2025

 Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Foster, and Mr. Moulton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
 Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
 each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title XXX of the Public Health Service Act to establish 
 standards and protocols to improve patient matching.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Patient Matching And Transparency in 
Certified Health IT Act of 2025'' or the ``MATCH IT Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Ensuring accurate patient identification and matching 
 is key to achieving the interoperability within the health care 
 system called for by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act and 
 the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical 
 Health

    (HITECH) Act.

    (2) There is currently no national strategy to ensure 
 patients are accurately matched with their medical records.

    (3) There is no standard definition across the health care 
 system of ``patient match rate'' to ensure the ability to 
 accurately measure patient matches and patient 
 misidentification.

    (4) The patient match rates that are available can vary 
 widely, with an estimate from CHIME noting that matching within 
 facilities can be as low as 80 percent--meaning that one out of 
 every five patients may not be matched to all his or her 
 records.

    (5) Patient misidentification within the United States 
 health care system is a threat to patient safety, patient 
 privacy, and a driver of unnecessary costs to patients and 
 providers.

    (6) The inability of clinicians to ensure patients are 
 accurately matched with their medical record has caused medical 
 errors, and even lives lost. Patient misidentification has been 
 named a recurrent patient safety challenge in multiple years by 
 ECRI.

    (7) Patients must undergo unnecessary repeated medical 
 tests because of the inability to ensure accurate matches to 
 their medical record.

    (8) The expense of repeated medical care due to duplicate 
 records costs an average of $1,950 per patient inpatient stay, 
 and more than $1,700 per emergency department visit. Thirty-
 five percent of all denied claims result from inaccurate 
 patient identification, costing the average hospital $2.5 
 million and the United States health care system more than $6.7 
 billion annually.

    (9) Overlaid records, caused by merging multiple patients' 
 data into one medical record, may result in unauthorized 
 disclosures under the Health Insurance Portability and 
 Accountability Act

    (HIPAA) , as well as the risk of a patient 
 receiving treatment for another patient's condition.

    (10) This Act would decrease the prevalence of patient 
 misidentification by further promoting interoperability, 
 thereby protecting patients and addressing high costs driven by 
 this issue.

SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE PATIENT MATCHING.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title XXX of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-51 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section:

``

SEC. 3023. STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE PATIENT MATCHING.

 ``

    (a) Establishing a Uniform Definition for Patient Match Rate.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall, in 
 consultation with health care providers, vendors of electronic 
 health records and health information technology, patient 
 groups, and other relevant stakeholders, develop a definition 
 and standards for accurate and precise patient matching to 
 track patient match rates and document improvements of patient 
 matching over time. The Secretary shall ensure that such 
 definition and standards for patient match rate account for--
 ``
        (A) duplicate records;
 ``
        (B) overlaid records;
 ``
            (C) instances of multiple matches found; and
 ``
            (D) mismatch rates within the same healthcare 
 organizations and provider systems.
 ``

    (2) Review and update.--In consultation with health care 
 providers, vendors of electronic health records and health 
 information technology, patient groups, and other relevant 
 stakeholders, the Secretary shall review and update the 
 definition and standards developed under paragraph

    (1) , as 
 appropriate, not less frequently than once every 3 years to 
 ensure that such definition and standards are consistent with 
 updates and improvements in technologies and processes.
 ``

    (b) Development of a Standard Data Set To Improve Patient 
Matching.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
 of enactment of this section, subject to paragraph

    (2) , the 
 National Coordinator shall review the current data set in the 
 United States Core Data for Interoperability and identify, 
 define, and adopt the minimum data set needed to support the 
 adoption of patient matching by entities, including health care 
 providers, developers of health care information technology or 
 certified health IT, or health information networks of 
 exchange, at a rate of 99.9 percent. The National Coordinator 
 shall include such minimum data set in the United States Core 
 Data for Interoperability.
 ``

    (2) Development of data standards in united states core 
 data for interoperability.--For purposes of improving 
 interoperable health exchange, not later than 1 year after 
 defining the minimum data set described in paragraph

    (1) , the 
 National Coordinator shall create, update, or adopt data 
 standards for the data elements identified in the minimum data 
 set and incorporate such standards into the United States Core 
 Data for Interoperability.
 ``

    (3) Consultation required.--In identifying and defining 
 the minimum data set described in paragraph

    (1) and creating, 
 updating, or adopting data standards described in paragraph

    (2) , the National Coordinator shall consult with--
 ``
        (A) health care providers;
 ``
        (B) vendors of electronic health records;
 ``
            (C) vendors of health information technology;
 ``
            (D) patient groups;
 ``
        (E) Federal agencies, including the National 
 Institute of Standards and Technology, the Centers for 
 Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of 
 Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the 
 Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security 
 Administration, the Indian Health Service, and the 
 Office for Civil Rights;
 ``
        (F) public health authorities within State, 
 local, territorial, and Tribal; and
 ``
        (G) any other stakeholders the Secretary 
 determines appropriate.
 ``

    (4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
 shall be construed to require an entity to meet a minimum 
 patient match rate of 99.9 percent.''.

    (b) Incorporating the Minimum Data Set for Patient Matching Into 
Certification Requirements.--

Section 3004

    (b) of subtitle B of title XXX 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-14

    (b) ) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
 ``

    (4) Special rule.--
 ``
        (A) Incorporation of minimum data set into health 
 it certification requirements.--Notwithstanding 
 paragraph

    (3) , the Secretary shall incorporate and 
 adopt the minimum data set for patient matching 
 established under 

section 3023 into the certification 
 criteria adopted under this section not later than 180 
 days after such data set is finalized.
 ``
        (B) Incorporation of minimum data set into 
 medicare interoperability program requirements.--Not 
 later than 24 months after the incorporation of the 
 minimum data set for patient matching into the 
 certification criteria as required in subparagraph
        (A) , 
 the Secretary shall incorporate and adopt such minimum 
 data set for patient matching established under 

section 3023 into program requirements to promote the 
 interoperability of certified EHR technology for 
 entities participating in the Medicare program under 
 title XVIII of the Social Security Act.''.
            (c) Additional Incentives To Promote Interoperability.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 24 months after the 
 incorporation and adoption of the minimum data set for patient 
 matching into the program requirements to promote the 
 interoperability of certified EHR technology for entities 
 participating under the Medicare program under title XVIII of 
 the Social Security Act as required in subparagraph
        (B) of 
 

section 3004

    (b)

    (4) of title XXX of the Public Health Service 
 Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-14

    (b) ), the Administrator of the Centers 
 for Medicare and Medicaid Services shall, through rulemaking, 
 establish a voluntary bonus measure within the Medicare 
 Promoting Interoperability Program for eligible providers who 
 meet an accurate patient match rate (as defined under 

section 3023 of subtitle C of title XXX of the Public Health Service 
 Act) of at least 90 percent or the rate determined under 
 paragraph

    (4) to voluntary attest to and receive a payment 
 adjustment for meeting such measure.

    (2) Special rule.--In establishing the voluntary bonus 
 measure described in paragraph

    (1) , the Administrator shall--
        (A) ensure that the total score for incentive 
 payments or status as an eligible provider will not be 
 negatively impacted if the eligible provider does not 
 attest to an accurate patient match rate; and
        (B) ensure that the voluntary attestations 
 regarding patient matching rates shall not be publicly 
 disclosed.

    (3) Voluntary reporting program.--The National Coordinator, 
 along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and 
 other Federal agencies determined appropriate by the Secretary, 
 shall develop a voluntary reporting program for eligible 
 providers to anonymously submit patient matching accuracy data 
 to the Department of Health and Human Services.

    (4) Annual review of patient match rate.--
        (A) In general.--Utilizing the patient matching 
 accuracy data described in paragraph

    (2) and any 
 additional data sources available, the Administrator of 
 the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services shall 
 review and evaluate the patient match attestation rates 
 annually to determine if such rate should be adjusted.
        (B) Adjustment.--The Administrator may adjust the 
 patient match rate described in paragraph

    (1) if the 
 Administrator determines that the patient match 
 attestation rate should be adjusted to further 
 incentivize the voluntary reporting of accurate patient 
 match rates.
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