Three major legislative and regulatory proposals concerning technology in health care are in the works for 2015, each of them aiming to accelerate the growth of the already burgeoning health IT vertical by facilitating – and protecting – the electronic collection and sharing of health data.
21st Century Cures Initiative
On January 27, 2015, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Colorado's own Diana DeGette (D-CO), released a discussion draft of potential bill language aimed at accelerating the discovery, development, and delivery of new medical drugs and devices. Elizabeth Farrar, health counsel for Rep. DeGette, said the bill's sponsors have set an "aggressive timeline" for consideration of the bill, with a vote on the bill planned for May 2015.