When we last examined this promise in January of 2009, we reported on the status of President Obama's efforts to invest in electronic health information systems and electronic health records.

At the time, we rated his promise In the Works, since House Democrats had only just released an outline of their 2009 stimulus bill, which called for the allocation of an initial $2 billion for electronic health records, to be followed by another $18 billion. We wanted to see how much funding Congress would give for electronic health records before issuing our final ruling.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. Within the bill is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act, which specifically addresses the use of health information technology and electronic health records. The bill allocated $20 billion for the development of health information technology, according to a summary from the House Ways and Means Committee. Of that total, $17 billion is intended to provide Medicare and Medicaid fiscal incentives to encourage health providers to implement electronic health records and technology systems.

Although a $20 billion investment in modernizing the health care system clearly demonstrates President Obama's commitment to this promise, he is still $30 billion and three and a half years away from fulfilling his $50 billion campaign pledge. Until we see a clear commitment to the continuation of those funds, we'll keep this promise rated In the Works.