Last month, as noted in the FEHBlog, the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed their own versions of HR 4157, the Health Information Technology Improvement Act. Yesterday, the House Rules Committee passed a resolution (H. Res. 952) reconciling the two measures and permitting various amendments to be considered on the floor of the House. This afternoon, the House considered and passed the bill by a 270-138 vote. The White House issued a statement of support for the House bill.Of greatest importance to health plans, the House bill would require implementation of the ICD-10 diagnosis and inpatient procedure codes in October 2010 (rather than October 2009 as provided in the Ways and Means Committee report and October 2012 as urged by AHIP).

The House and the Senate now will hold a conference committee to reconcile HR 4157 and S. 1418 which the Senate passed last November.