# Understanding the MATCH IT Act of 2025

Right now, when you go to different hospitals or doctors' offices, there's a surprisingly common problem: they can't always match you to your own medical records. Imagine going to a new hospital and the system creates a brand new file for you instead of finding your existing records—or worse, it accidentally merges your information with someone else's. This bill tackles that exact issue by creating national standards to make sure patients are correctly matched to their medical records across the healthcare system.

The problem is more serious than it might sound. According to the bill, patient misidentification happens so often that about one out of every five patients might not be matched to all their records at some facilities. This leads to real consequences: you might get duplicate medical tests you don't need, costing you and insurance companies money. The bill notes that duplicate records cost an average of nearly $2,000 per hospital stay and over $1,700 per emergency room visit. Even worse, mixing up patient records can lead to medical errors or someone receiving treatment meant for another patient. The healthcare system loses over $6.7 billion annually because of these matching problems.

To fix this, the bill requires the federal government to create a uniform definition of what "patient matching" actually means and establish standards that healthcare providers and technology companies must follow. Within six months, officials must work with hospitals, doctors, software vendors, and patient groups to develop these standards. The bill also requires that electronic health record systems include specific data elements that help accurately identify patients—aiming for a 99.9 percent accuracy rate. Additionally, Medicare will create a voluntary bonus program where doctors and hospitals can get paid extra if they achieve at least a 90 percent patient matching rate, encouraging providers to improve their systems without penalizing those who don't participate.

MATCH IT Act of 2025

Kelly, Mike

Patient Matching And Transparency in Certified Health IT Act of 2025 or the MATCH IT Act of 2025This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a definition and standards for patient matching (i.e., the process of&nbsp;accurately matching patients with their medical records, including when records are exchanged between health care providers). It also requires the development of&nbsp;(1)&nbsp;a minimum data set for technology standards&nbsp;to increase patient matching, and (2) incentives for patient matching under Medicare.Specifically, the bill requires HHS to develop a uniform definition and standards for patient matching to track patient match rates and document improvement over time. The definition and standards must account for certain situations, including duplicate records and multiple matches.The bill also requires the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to adopt a minimum data set to help health care providers or health information systems achieve&nbsp;a patient match rate of 99.9%. The&nbsp;minimum data set and related standards must be incorporated&nbsp;into the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability and the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program&nbsp;for&nbsp;health information technology. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare &amp;&nbsp;Medicaid Services (CMS) must&nbsp;establish a voluntary bonus measure within the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program to allow&nbsp;health care providers who have a patient match rate over a certain percentage to receive a payment adjustment.&nbsp;The ONC and CMS&nbsp;must develop a voluntary reporting program for providers to anonymously submit patient matching data to HHS.&nbsp;