According to the Wall Street Journal, “[t]he Obama administration [today] gave its strongest signal yet that it would be willing to compromise on plans to expand the government’s direct role in health-insurance coverage as it fights a growing crescendo of opposition to its effort to overhaul health care.” The Washington Post reports that
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius opened the door to a
compromise on a public option, saying it is “not the essential element” of
comprehensive reform. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on CBS’s
“Face the Nation” that Obama “will be satisfied” if the private insurance market
has “choice and competition.”
In this regard, the Kaiser Health News published an interview with American Hospital Association President Chip Kahn who said “We are just opposed to a public option that is controlled by the HHS secretary and pays any kind of rate that is based on Medicare (fees). We see that as counterproductive … We would prefer to negotiate with a private entity.” Further, Health Leaders Media reports that
Private health plans’ administrative costs averaged 9% of premiums across
all policies sold and are well below “vastly overstated” estimates offered by
proponents of a government-run public plan, according to a new [Sherlock
Company] study paid for by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.The Sherlock report also claims that private plans perform the
administrative functions that Medicare performs for $12.51 per member per month,
compared to $13.19 per month for Medicare, and that private plans perform more
administrative functions than traditional Medicare, including care coordination
and wellness programs.
Business Insurance reports that the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has put its healthcare bank, the Blue Healthcare Bank, up for sale. “A variety of factors contributed to the reason for the sale, said Jeff Smokler, spokesman for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assn. ‘The future marketplace is one of those factors,’ he said.” The leadership in Congress is not a proponent of the health savings accounts which is a service offered by the Bank.Government Health IT News reports that “The federal Health IT Policy Committee today endorsed recommendations that would leave the Certification Commission for Health IT in[August 14] the short term as the sole organization authorized to certify health IT systems that qualified for funding under the economic stimulus plan.”Drug Store News reports that “CVS/pharmacy introduced Thursday [August 13] a free program that automatically fills prescriptions for maintenance medications and calls the patient to remind them that their medication is ready to be picked up. * * * Consumers must sign up to participate in the free ReadyFill program.”OPM has posted on its website a geographic breakdown of federal employees and annuitants as of September 2008.