The Senate returns to Capitol Hill this week while the House of Representatives are in their home districts. This Week in Congress has returned to the internet after being off the air for four months. While the first line of their report is incorrect, the FEHBlog finds the one pager to be useful.

On the mergers and acquisitions front, Bloomberg reports that both of the major shareholder proxy advisory companies have come out in favor of the Cigna / Express Scripts merger.  The Wall Street Journal explains in an editorial about the failed Rite-Aid / Albertson’s merger that

[T]he objections by Glass Lewis and ISS carry substantial weight since the Securities and Exchange Commission allows institutional shareholders to fulfill their fiduciary obligations by relying on the advice of third-party proxy advisers. Flouting their advice can invite investor lawsuits. Glass Lewis and ISS control 97% of the advisory market, which encourages herd voting among investors.  Proxy firms also don’t have to demonstrate that their recommendations are in the best interest of shareholders, which can cause conflicts of interest.

Just as the Glass Lexis and ISS objections to the Rite-Aid / Albertson’s merger killed the deal last week, it’s likely that their support for the Cigna / Express Scripts merger will carry the date, notwithstanding Carl Icahn’s opposition.

Healthcare Dive reports that

Employers feel they’ve squeezed out all of the savings that can come from high-deductible health plans and are seeking new ways to manage rising healthcare costs and improve employee health, according to a new report by Duke’s Margolis Center for Health Policy. 

The FEHBP hasn’t come close to squeezing all of the savings that can come from high deductible plans. Except at the very beginning in 2004, OPM has not been keen on them.

Finally, to close the loop on an ACA issue, the FEHBlog noted last month that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had suspended making payments to insurers in the ACA’s fully funded risk adjustment program due to a court ruling in New Mexico. Late last week, CMS issued a final rule intended to address the court’s concerns about the prior rule. The risk adjustment payments will resume in September with no change to distribution approach unless the court issues a preliminary injunction.