Happy Groundhog Day

The Weather Channel reports, “Before a huge crowd filled with excitement and anticipation, and bundled up against temperatures in the 20s, t​he groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Sunday morning in central Pennsylvania. That means we could see six more weeks of winter, at least according to Groundhog Day lore.”

From Washington, DC

  • Capitol Hill News
  • The full Senate will begin to take up the nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget tomorrow afternoon.
  • Per a Senate news release,
    • “U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced [today] the Committee will mark up the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during an executive session on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 10:00AM ET.” 
  • On Wednesday February 5 at 10 am ET the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing about
    “Rightsizing Government.”

OPM News

  • Federal News Network reports,
    • “The Office of Personnel Management’s blanket offer for federal employees to accept its “deferred resignation” offer is starting to narrow.
    • “Some agencies are notifying employees in certain critical positions that they are exempt from OPM’s offer. In other cases, agency leaders have told employees who already accepted the offer that they must keep working, regardless of what they have already been told by OPM.”
  • and
    • “The Office of Personnel Management is giving agencies the authority to offer early retirement to federal employees — in addition to the “deferred resignation” offer sent to most federal employees in a mass email earlier this week.
    • “OPM is approving VERA authority so eligible employees may receive VERA if they accept the deferred resignation officer,” OPM Acting Director Chuck Ezell wrote in an email obtained by Federal News Network. “If your full retirement eligibility data falls within the 2025 calendar year, the agency may extend your deferred resignation period to the date of your full retirement eligibility.”
    • “An OPM spokesperson confirmed to Federal News Network the VERA extends governmentwide.
    • “Federal and postal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are eligible for voluntary early retirement if they’re at least 50 years of age, with at least 20 years of service, or any age with at least 25 years of service.
    • “Voluntary Early Retirement Authority doesn’t always come with a financial incentive. But in cases agencies do offer money, the incentive is capped at $25,000.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

  • Beckers Hospital Review offers executive insights on the impact that the President’s February 1, 2025, tariff program may have on healthcare.
  • Beckers also tells us,
    • “Healthgrades has recognized 250 U.S. hospitals as part of its 2025 America’s Best Hospitals Awards.
    • “The top 50 hospitals [which are listed in the article] represent the 1% of U.S. hospitals providing the highest level of quality care, according to a Jan. 28 news release. 
    • “Healthgrades evaluated the clinical performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals across more than 30 common procedures and conditions, the release said. Read more about the methodology here.”
  • Fierce Healthcare informs us,
    • “Medicare Advantage patients treated in value-based care models saw better outcomes than those treated in fee-for-service models, according to a new study.
    • “Researchers led by a team at Optum examined claims data on nearly 5.3 million person-years from 2016-19 across 20 different measurements and found that patients in accountable care models were 9% less likely to be admitted to the hospital and 9% less likely to visit the emergency department.
    • “The study found that value-based patients were also 22% less likely to be admitted to the hospital for concerns related to chronic conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or asthma, including an 18% reduction in admissions related to hypertension.
    • “In addition, patients treated in the value-based models were 9% less likely to be admitted to the hospital from the emergency room, the study found.:

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