February 25, 2008 News Advisory- CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems Encourages Greater Baton Rouge Area to Support Use of Electronic Health Records to Improve Patient CareSecretary Levine announces state budget focus on electronic medical records and Acting Administrator Weems Announces CMS approval of LaCHIP expansion waiver

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb 25, 2008 -

Secretary Levine & La. Health Care Quality Forum leads local effort on new Medicare, state initiatives

 WHO:            CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems

                        Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine

                        Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Board President Michael Fleming, M.D.

WHEN:          Wednesday, February 27, 2008

                        Remarks by Levine and Weems begin at 9:00 a.m.

                        MEDIA AVAILABILITY at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:        Louisiana State Capitol

                        Governor’s Press Conference Room, 4^th Floor

                        900 N. 3^rd Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802

CONTACT:   CMS Dallas Regional Office (214) 767-3225

DETAILS: CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems is visiting Baton Rouge to meet with patients, providers, health plans, and local business leaders to discuss a new Medicare demonstration project offering incentives to physicians using electronic health records (EHR) to improve patient care.

This effort will help reduce errors and improve health outcomes for an estimated 3.6 million Americans. The adoption of interoperable health information technology is one of the Secretary’s four cornerstones of value-driven health care.

ALSO: At the news event, Weems will announce CMS’s approval of Louisiana’s plan to expand its State Children’s Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP in Louisiana) to cover more children.

For more information on this EHR initiative and HHS’s four cornerstones of value-driven health care, please visit www.hhs.gov/valuedriven or www.hhs.gov/healthit.