WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Senate Democrat said on Wednesday a planned economic stimulus package will likely include money and tax breaks for doctors and hospitals to buy advanced technology that will make it easier for them to share patient care information.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said at a news conference that lawmakers were discussing what should be included in the package of tax breaks and infrastructure spending that President-elect Barack Obama has said will be needed to jump start the faltering economy.

Baucus said the package, which some have estimated would be about $500 billion to $700 billion, would also include tax incentives for businesses and alternative energy as well as tax relief for the middle class.

As head of the tax-writing Finance Committee, Baucus will have a major say in what goes into the legislation. About half the value of the economic recovery package could be in the form of tax relief, he said.

Obama has said he wants an economic package that would include the largest infrastructure investment since the 1950s.

That infrastructure investment will likely include grants and tax incentives for health information technology, Baucus said. Businesses and health reform advocates have said harmonizing the electronic standards needed to exchange information about patient care could go a long way toward reducing costs. Lawmakers are working to address privacy concerns with such technology.

He declined to give a specific amount for the technology aid. But when asked if it would amount to the $50 billion some have suggested is needed, Baucus said that “might be a little high.”

Baucus, who also plans to work with Obama to push for major health-care reform legislation next year, said including information technology in the economic stimulus will help get a jump start on the overall reform.

“We have to make a start,” he said.

The economic stimulus plan is also likely to include aid to cash-strapped states to help them pay for the Medicaid health care program for the poor.

Lawmakers are also discussing whether to include temporarily extending a children’s health care program that expires in March, giving them time to more fully address the issue in a broader health reform.