The Senate recessed early Saturday morning after joining the House of Representatives in passing a continuing resolution funding the federal government through March 31, 2013 — the mid-way point of the next federal fiscal year. Here are links to a Hill report and a Govexec report on the resolution.  Now both the House and the Senate like the President are out on the campaign trail until November 6. Congress will return for a lame duck session after the election.

The Federal Times reports on OPM’s press release about 2013 FEHBP premiums. The article notes that

OPM is encouraging health insurers to find ways to take better care
of their enrollees. OPM wants insurers to reduce hospital readmissions
by 20 percent and cut preventable “hospital-acquired conditions,” such
as falls, by 40 percent. Foley said those are significant factors
driving up the cost of medical care.

OPM also wants insurers to
improve maternity and neonatal care and to eliminate early elective
delivery of babies before 39 weeks.

While these are worthy goals, the simple fact of the matter is that health plans with the exception of staff model HMOs like Kaiser do not provide patient care; rather they pay for care. Of course, as payors, health plans can influence care to a certain extent that varies with their leverage.  In that regard, NCQA recently issued its insurer rankings which is based on their certification and quality standards. The bottom line, however, is that doctors and hospitals as professionals under the Hippocratic oath and their professional societies must step up their game as illustrated by this article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.

Crabby Appleton was a character in the Tom Terrific cartoons when the FEHBlog was a lad. (Crabby Appleton also was a band in the 1970s but I have the cartoon character in mind.) The FEHBlog loves that name and he always considers the day after the announcement of next year’s FEHBP premiums (today) to be Crabby Appleton day.

Why? Take a look at today’s Federal Diary headline — “Health premiums rise is modest but unwelcome.”  The federal employee unions (which choose not to sponsor plans in the FEHBP) revel in dumping on OPM’s press release even when the average increase, like this year, is peanuts (and below the projected 4% increase for large employers noted in the FEHBlog last week). The FEHBlog knows that this rate increase is nothing short of miraculous given the aging demographics of this group (half annuitants) and rising healthcare costs. It’s a tribute to OPM and the carriers. It’s easier to carp from the sidelines.

The FEHBlog notes two eye-popping article from Kaiser Health News and the New England Journal of Medicine. The Kaiser article knocks the FEHBP becauise the FEHBP’s average cost increase over the last 10 years have been higher than Medicare’s. What a red herring argument. Of course, Medicare which as the FEHBlog has illustrated time and time again relies on artificially low rates set by law comes in with lower increases than the FEHBP which has negotiated rates. Plus those rates are higher than they should be because Medicare shift costs onto the FEHBP and private sector plans.

The New England Journal of Medicine commentary suggests that the FEHBP could be “much more innovative” by imitating Medicare.  Wow. The authors simply do not understand the FEHBP or the private market.

Turning to that market. the FEHBlog notes that Blue Cross and GEHA are two FEHB plans that already have announced their 2013 benefit changes on the heels of the OPM press release.

OPM issued its Open Season press release today. “The average premium for the 8.2 million people covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will increase by 3.4 percent in 2013, which is lower than last year’s increase of 3.8 percent.” OPM explained that there are no significant program wide benefit changes for 2013 (other than those mandated by the Affordable Care Act). You can find the 2013 rates here. The Washington Post adds that “There will be 230 participating plans in the FEHBP during 2013, up from the current 206, all but 13 of them health maintenance organization plans available only in a local area.”

Congress is in session for the latter part of this week following the Jewish New Year celebration that begins this evening. The House passed the continuing fund resolution funding the federal government for the first six months of the new federal fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2012.  According the Hill’s Floor Watch, the Senate is expected to pass the House resolution later this week.

The White House released its statutorily mandated sequestration report on Friday.  The sequestration will take effect in January 2013 unless Congress unless Congress and the White House agree on a great compromise to reduce future budget deficits by $1.2 trillion through 2021 in the lame duck session following the election. The Hill reports that “Sequestration would cut $11 billion from Medicare and take millions of dollars away from Affordable Care Act implementation programs.” Govexec.com reports that 

A senior Obama administration official could not estimate how many job
losses or agency furloughs would occur if governmentwide spending cuts
are triggered, but said federal employees would feel the effects of
sequestration: “Clearly, if a sequester would occur, this would have a
significant impact on the federal workforce.” President Obama has said he will exempt military personnel from the
effects of sequestration. Veterans benefits also are protected.

According to the report (pp. 134-35), the sequester would not apply to the FEHBP trust fund held in the U.S. Treasury.  This trust provides financing for FEHB plans and OPM’s administration of the program.

This could be the week that OPM releases the 2013 premiums and government contribution for the FEHBP. Last week the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that “Health insurance premiums rose 4 percent for family coverage this year,
well below last year’s increase and half the 8 percent average of the
previous decade – largely because people used less health care in an
uncertain economy.” Of course, as the FEHBlog has noted the AMA News joyously has reported an uptick in doctors visits this year.  The Kaiser article adds that a May 2012 PriceWaterhouseCoopers “report estimates [employers] will see premiums rise 5.5 percent next year. That’s a benchmark against which to measure the FEHBP increase for 2013.

The FEHBlog nearly levitated this morning when he read this Washington Post article (p. A3) captioned “Doctors, Others Billing Medicare at Higher Rates.”  While upcoding is nothing new, the reason for the current upcoding binge was surprising:

Many doctors and hospitals say that computerized medical records encourage the move to higher codes because the software makes it easier for providers to quickly create documentation for charges. One electronic medical records company predicts on its Web site that its product will result in an increase of one coding level for each patient visit, potentially adding $225,000 in new revenue in a year.

Of course, the government has spent nearly $7 billion over the past three paying for hospitals and doctors to use electronic health records. The gift that keeps on giving.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on and approve the continuing resolution today, and Federal New Radio and the Washington Post report on the bill’s impact on federal employees, e.g., the extension of the pay freeze. The Senate is expected to seal the deal tomorrow.

Sunday September 15 is the day that Walgreen’s returns to the Express Scripts / Medco fold of participating pharmacy chains after a nine and a half month absence that had a negative financial impact on Walgreens.  As the FEHBlog noted last year, Walgreen’s picked the contract fight with the PBM over financial issues.  Crain’s Chicago Business News reports that TRICARE, an Express Scripts customer, has decided to stick with a narrow retail network excluding Walgreen’s.

The FEHBlog notes that the pharmacy chains have not given up on their antitrust lawsuit challenging the Express Scripts acquisition of Medco that was finalized last Spring. Drug Store News reports that the pharmacy chain plaintiffs in that lawsuit pending in Pittsburgh after refiled their complaint after the court dismissed the original complaint last month without prejudice. Note to plaintiffs — the barn is empty.

Congress returns to Washington for a few weeks before recessing for the final stage of the 2012 political campaigns. The good news is that according to the Hill 

The House is expected to take up the six-month continuing resolution during the week, which could set up Senate passage by the end of the week. House and Senate leaders agreed to a six-month spending bill before leaving for the August break.

The six month long continuing resolution will fund the federal government through March 31. 2013.

Last week, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stressing the need to revamp our health care system.  According to the report

The costs of the [health care] system’s current inefficiency underscore the urgent need for a systemwide transformation.  The committee calculated that about 30 percent of health spending in 2009 — roughly $750 billion — was wasted on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems.  Moreover, inefficiencies cause needless suffering.  By one estimate, roughly 75,000 deaths might have been averted in 2005 if every state had delivered care at the quality level of the best performing state.

The report places emphasis on the ability of technology improvements to share quality data and thereby reduce inefficiencies. The FEHBlog certainly hopes so because Government Health IT News reports that the federal government has spent nearly $7 billion giving healthcare technology away to hospitals and doctors. Caveat — Modern Medicine reports that “Electronic health records (EHRs) have forced primary care physicians (PCPs) to focus on the computer screen, and a new study from the University of Florida indicates that this trend may be keeping PCPs from recognizing and properly treating some cases of depression.”

The FEHBlog is skeptical of the $750 billion number (but not the $7 billion number) because it’s so large and public health valuations like this are so screwy. The FEHBlog read a Wall Street Journal review about a book positing that the recent rise of auto-immune diseases like autism, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes stems from improvements in public health. In brief, our immune systems get bored and turn on our own bodies as a result.

But let’s end on a high note. Recently, the FEHBlog wrote about a New York Times article in which research scientists found a cure for a colleague’s cancer by analyzing his genome. The New York Times reports today that scientists by using genome scanning have made a valuable discovery.

The first large and comprehensive study of the genetics of a common lung cancer finds that more than half the tumors from that cancer have mutations that might be treated by new drugs that are already in the pipeline or that could be easily developed.

Most excellent.

TGIF indeed.  The FEHBlog arrived at the world headquarters of the Ermer Law Group on Tuesday to discover that a water pipe break on Sunday that occurred five floors above his office had result in his space being filled with fans. A contractor broke through drywall to force air that would dry the walls and avoid mold (a good result). The fans were not removed until today. It’s peaceful here now.

Mike Causey from Federal News Radio is reporting that “Insiders say that the Office of Personnel Management is pulling out all stops in an effort to hold the 2013 premium hikes below the already low levels of this year.”  We shall see soon.

Speaking of Open Season, the Society for Human Resource Management reports that “Satisfaction levels are rising among Americans enrolled in consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), while they are declining among those in traditional health plans, according to a new report by the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).” However, the overall satisfaction rate is higher for traditional plans (57% vs. 46% in 2011).

Happy Labor Day! Congress will resume its session next week following the August recess and the political conventions.

The FEHBlog nearly levitated out of his chair yesterday when he read this Steve Pearlstein column in the Washington Post yesterday assaulting Coventry Healthcare, Aetna, and the entire health insurance industry. (The FEHBlog knows that these companies don’t merit such abuse.)  Mr. Pearlstein places his hopes on provider controlled accountable care organizations replacing heath insurers and beseeching federal regulators to launch anti-trust challenges against Wellpoint’s recent acquisition of Amerigroup and Aetna’s acquisition of Coventry. However, the government did not question Cigna’s similar acquisition of Healthspring last year.  Moreover, as the FEHBlog has pointed out, the Affordable Care Act is feeding this health plan consolidation trend which according to Businessweek may be nearing an end. And without health insurance, the bottom would drop out for the health care industry.

In other anti-trust news, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that last week a federal judge in that fair city dismissed a big chunk of the pharmacy chain’s anti-trust challenge to the Express Scripts’ acquisition of Medco last Spring. The court allowed a specialty pharmacy related issue to proceed and also allow the plaintiffs an opportunity to revise their complaint.

The AMA News gleefully reports that health insurer earnings have been dropping because patient utilization and doctors earnings are up this year. The AMA News further cautions that overwork is wearing down the profession. It’s quite a conundrum, as Newman would say.

It’s the time of the year on the FEHBP calendar when the focus shifts from benefit and rate negotiations for 2013 (which should be concluded) to the impending Open Season which runs this year from November 12 through December 10, 2012. Here’s a link to an OPM list of Open Season resources.

Historically but not recently, OPM would issue its press release about the following year’s government contribution and the employee share of the large plans shortly after Labor Day. Over the last decade, that announcement is made in late September. The FEHBlog expects that OPM will adhere to the recent schedule this year.

Modern Healthcare announced its list of 2012 Most Influential People in Healthcare. The top five include four government officials and a health insurance executive Mark Bertolini of Aetna (at #2). The next five include four health plan / health insurance executives and the HHS Secretary. Health care provider executives start to show up at number 12, with a dialysis company executive. Surprisingly to the FEHBlog at least, the OPM Director was not included on the list.

Modern Healthcare named Chief Justice John Roberts to be the most influential person. If the FEHBlog were in charge, he would have named the American voter as the greatest influence on healthcare this year.

The Health Affairs blog has an interesting piece on “Seizing the Opportunity to Improve Medication Adherence”  The authors encourage, among other things

more commitment *** by public and private payers to include
adherence quality measures as a basis for reimbursement or bonus
payments for providers and pharmacists. Adherence-related quality
measures and bonus payments can be expanded within Medicare to cover
more beneficiaries (e.g., those in Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Plans),
and similar policies can be adopted by Medicaid and commercial payers. 
Finally, further innovation and testing is needed of interventional
strategies that combine effective approaches for targeting patients at
the highest risk of non-adherence with efforts to personalize effective
interventional strategies that work best for each patient.

As physicians are subsumed into hospital systems, they can get paid for
services at the systems’ rates, which are typically more generous than
what insurers pay independent doctors. What’s more, some services that
physicians previously performed at independent facilities, such as
imaging scans, may start to be billed as hospital outpatient procedures,
sometimes more than doubling the cost.

The result is that the same service, even sometimes provided in the
same location, can cost more once a practice signs on with a hospital.

Major health insurers say a growing number of rate increases are tied
to physician-practice acquisitions. The elevated prices also affect
employers, many of which pay for their workers’ coverage. A federal
watchdog agency said doctor tie-ups are likely resulting in higher
Medicare spending as well, because the program pays more for some
services performed in a hospital facility.

Cost curve up.

As discussed last week, the State of Maryland, which is the only remaining state that sets hospital charges, is reevaluating those rates. The State at the suggestion of the hospital association is considering raising rates while shifting costs from Medicare and Medicaid to the private sector. Kaiser Health News explains that if Maryland does not make a change that lowers Medicare costs then CMS may withdraw Maryland’s waiver from Medicare’s DRG rate setting system for hospitals . According to the article, that waiver allows Maryland hospitals to collect $1 billion more that they would if they were participating in the DRG system. CMS is using its leverage to urge Maryland to go big.

Federal officials are urging Maryland and its powerful health
industry to build on the state’s unique hospital rate-setting system to
develop sweeping cost controls – including those on doctors – that could
be used as a model for other states.

The proposals could eventually affect nearly every aspect of the
industry, and include rewarding doctors for cutting unneeded procedures
and pledging the state to keep per-capita Medicare costs rising more
slowly than those of the nation. 

The FEHBlog, who lives in Maryland, thinks that this big change will happen. The FEHBlog also believes that government price fixing doesn’t work.

The FEHBlog finally wants to point out that the Labor Department has improved its ACA web page which is the best place for one stop shopping for ACA related regulations, FAQs, model forms, instructions, etc. The ACA regulators, for example, have issued nine sets of FAQs which they number using Roman numerals like the Super Bowls. The FAQs have always been posted on the website but now the website provides one or two lines with the topics covered in the FAQa. The FEHBlog is grateful for the little things in lfe.