Mid-week update

The mid-week update has been delayed by the FEHBlog’s cataract surgery which happened yesterday — a miracle of modern medicine.  (The other eye will undergo the procedure right after Labor Day.) Here are a few quick hits:

  • The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that many employers will be impacted by the ACA’s 40% high cost excise tax. In fact all employers will be impacted by it because they will have to report on whether or not they owe the tax.  It would make a lot more sense to replace this convoluted tax with a straightforward 50% limit on health plan premiums for all high wage earners, not just self employed individuals.  
  • CVS pharmacies plan to expand the use of telemedicine services in its MinuteClinic offices according to Modern Healthcare. This decision follows a successful pilot program. 
  • Modern Healthcare also reports that Medicare’s accountable care organization program, another ACA initiative, continues to struggle. The FEHBlog is will to bet that private insurer ACA programs are doing better because they are not bound by complicated laws and regulations. 
  • Information Age discusses how healthcare organizations are responding to cyberliability risks.  CSO Online reports on a survey finding not surprisingly that “Just 1 percent of employees are responsible for 75 percent of cloud-related enterprise security risk, and companies can dramatically reduce their exposure at very little additional cost by paying extra attention to these users.”
  • Drug Channels reports that the slowdown in generic drug price inflation is “real.” And with that bit of good news it’s time for some eye drops.