My this workweek has been moving along rapidly. The House of Representatives did pass a significant mental health reform bill yesterday by a wide bipartisan margin as reported in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  In this regard, the FEHBlog notes this Modern Healthcare article reporting that the Medicaid program has begun to cover short term stays for adults at mental health institutions. Since its enactment in 1965, Medicaid has excluded this coverage because at that time the States provided this mental healthcare. Why it took fifty years to make this change is mystifying.

Employee Benefits News reports that according to an ADP Research Institute study employer-sponsored health benefit plan costs have been stable since the ACA marketplace opened in 2014.

Here are several tidbits:

• Hospitals are adding experienced nocturnal doctors to their ranks according to FierceHealthcare 
• Stat reports on a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that a biosimilar manufacturer cannot sell its new less costly specialty drugs for 180 days after receiving FDA marketing approval.
• Home Health News reports that False Claims Act penalties are nearly doubling on August 1.
• The New York Times Upshot compares the dietitian and public opinions on whether particular foods are healthy or unhealthy.