Lieberman, Hatch Introduce Bill Addressing Racial Disparities in Health Care
Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) last week introduced a bill (S 1929) called FairCare, which is intended to address deficiencies in health care for racial and ethnic minorities, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The bill comes in response to a study published Oct. 25 that found heart attack death rates are higher in hospitals that treat mostly black patients.
The bill aims to encourage standardized data collection to help identify inconsistencies in health care quality, as well as to create incentives for health care providers who improve quality measures for all patients. Lieberman introduced a similar bill in the last congressional session (Salt Lake Tribune, 11/1).