New Bill Targets $6.7 Billion in Healthcare Waste by Mandating 99.9% Accurate Patient Record Matching

When you log into your bank account, you expect the system to know exactly who you are, every single time. But in healthcare? Not so much. The MATCH IT Act of 2025 is trying to fix the embarrassing problem where hospitals and doctors’ offices can’t reliably match patients to their own medical records, a mix-up that costs the country billions and, more importantly, puts lives at risk.

This bill mandates that the federal government define and enforce new standards for patient identification. Within 180 days, the Secretary of Health and Human Services has to create a single, clear definition of what an accurate patient match actually is, specifically addressing issues like duplicate records and the terrifying scenario of “overlaid records,” where two different people’s data get accidentally merged into one file. Think of this as finally getting everyone to agree on the same ID card system for the entire U.S. healthcare network.

The Cost of Confusion: Why Your Doctor Needs Better Tech

Right now, the lack of reliable patient matching is a logistical nightmare and a huge drain on the economy. The bill’s findings estimate that inaccurate identification is behind 35 percent of all denied insurance claims, costing hospitals $2.5 million each and the entire U.S. healthcare system over $6.7 billion annually. If you’ve ever had to chase down a claim or pay for a test twice because the first results got lost in the system, this is why.

This isn't just about money; it’s about safety. When a doctor can’t trust the record they’re looking at, they might order a repeat test—costing about $1,950 for an inpatient stay—or worse, they might make a medical mistake based on incomplete or incorrect history. The MATCH IT Act aims to cut through this chaos by requiring the National Coordinator to identify the absolute minimum set of patient data needed to achieve a 99.9 percent match rate.

Setting the Standard and Sweetening the Deal

Once that minimum data set is established, it becomes the new baseline. The government will bake these new patient matching standards directly into the requirements for certifying health IT systems—the software vendors sell to hospitals. About two years later, this standard will be incorporated into the rules for providers participating in Medicare programs. This means if you want to get paid by Medicare, your Electronic Health Record (EHR) system must be able to talk to other systems using this high-accuracy matching standard.

To encourage providers to actually hit these high targets, the bill includes a carrot: a voluntary bonus measure within the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program. If a provider chooses to attest that they’ve achieved a 90 percent (or higher) accurate match rate, they can receive a payment adjustment. Crucially, the bill ensures that providers who choose not to participate or report their scores won’t be penalized, and their reported data won't be made public. This is a smart way to incentivize improvement without forcing small practices or those still upgrading their tech into immediate compliance penalties.

What This Means for Your Next Doctor Visit

For the average person, this bill translates to less hassle and more confidence in their care. Imagine moving to a new state or switching doctors; instead of filling out the same forms and trying to remember every surgery and medication from the last decade, your new provider’s system should be able to instantly and accurately pull your complete history. This reduces the chance of dangerous medication interactions or missed diagnoses. The main short-term challenge will fall on health IT vendors and hospitals, who will need to invest in updating their systems to meet these new certification requirements, but the long-term payoff in efficiency and safety seems massive.