Vermont Governor Jim Douglas traveled to Washington, D.C. today to meet with key policymakers on Capitol Hill and the Administration, to discuss reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the need for more rapid adoption of electronic health information. Douglas met with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mike Leavitt, as well as other members of Congress and health care policy leaders.

"We're at a critical juncture for health care policy across the country and I felt it was necessary to travel to Washington and convey that message from the states," said Douglas. "Vermont and other states are taking the lead in adopting far-reaching, innovative reforms to cover the uninsured and reduce the growth in health care costs. It's time for policymakers in Washington to work with the states to reauthorize the SCHIP and to encourage forward progress in areas like electronic health information."

Douglas is Chairman of the National Governor's Association (NGA) Health and Human Services Committee, as well as co-chair of the NGA State Alliance for eHealth. In addition to meeting with Pelosi and Leavitt, Douglas and State Alliance co-chair Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee presented State Alliance findings and recommendations to both the American Health Information Community (AHIC) and to America's Trust.

AHIC is a federal advisory body formed to make recommendations to the HHS Secretary on how to accelerate the development and adoption of health information technology. AHIC members include Craig Barrett, Chairmen of Intel Corporation, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Nancy Davenport-Ennis, CEO of the National Patient Advocate Foundation. America's Trust is a non-profit, non-partisan research and public policy organization that aims to bridge partisan and other divisions in order to facilitate the process of responsibly addressing the challenges facing the United States. The America's Trust presentation was attended by several Members of Congress and Congressional staff.