The FEHBlog is up in New York City. Down in DC, according to the Washington Post, the House of Representatives passed by a wide bipartisan margin a bill intended to combat the opioid abuse crisis. Here is a link to The Week in Congress’s report on this past week’s other actions on Capitol Hill.
The Hartford Courant reports that Connecticut’s ACA co-op HealthyCT is under state supervision. Ironically, the co-op is in hot water because HHS is requiring the non-profit to pay $13.4 million to the ACA’s risk adjustment program because it’s population is too healthy. WSOC TV adds that Illinois’s ACA co-op is sueing HHS in response for HHS’s demand for $72 million for the same risk corridor program. As the FEHBlog noted many years back, the co-ops are indeed the ACA’s Solyndras.
The National Diabetes Education Program has refreshed its website. It’s good link for health plans to use.
Healthcare IT News reports on a $650,000 HIPAA data breach settlement between a HIPAA business associate and HHS’s Office for Civil Rights. This marks the first settlement with a business associate, rather than, a covered entity (a health care provider, a health plan, or a healthcare clearinghouse). For over five year, business associates who perform services for covered entities became subject to these penalties over five years ago.