July 27, 2006—The House of Representatives voted 270-148 in favor of HR 4157, the health care IT bill that encourages adoption of electronic medical records systems and mandates the switch from the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition (ICD-9) codes, numbering around 24,000, to ICD-10 codes, numbering around 200,000. The deadline for conversion is Oct. 1, 2010. The bill also calls for legislative relief from anti-kickback and Stark physician self-referral laws, in order to grant practices the financial leeway to invest in health care IT. The House bill, which would authorize $30 million for implementation, must now be reconciled with the Senate version, which would authorize $600 million.
