Thursday Miscellany

Federal employment benefits

Thursday Miscellany

David Ermer–CDC, Federal employment benefits, Rx coverage–

At last year’s OPM AHIP FEHBP Carrier Conference, a Centers for Disease Control scientist announced that the U.S. Surgeon General soon would be issuing a new comprehensive report on tobacco use in the U.S. That report was issued today. It

  • Examines the effectiveness of various smoking cessation tools and resources;
  • Reviews the health effects of smoking and catalogues the improvements to health that can occur when smokers quit;
  • Highlights important new data on populations in which the prevalence of smoking is high and quit rates are low; and
  • Identifies gaps in the availability and utilization of programs, policies, and resources that can improve cessation rates and help smokers quit.

Here’s a link to OPM’s Quit Smoking website which discusses the FEHBP generous tobacco cessation benefits.

The CDC updated the public on its important antibiotic resistance solutions initiative.

CDC’s AR Solutions Initiative invests in national infrastructure to detect, respond, contain, and prevent resistant infections across healthcare settings, food, and communities. CDC funding supports all 50 state health departments, six local health departments, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Through these investments, CDC is transforming how the nation and world combat and slow antibiotic resistance at all levels.

Good luck.

The FEHBlog has discussed the relatively new, cooperative effort of hospitals to create a public asset, known as Civica Rx, to help solve drug shortages and lower the cost of generic drugs. Today, Civica Rx and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced

their partnership to create a new subsidiary dedicated to lowering the cost of select generic drugs. The subsidiary is being formed in response to the impact of high drug costs on the health of Americans and the overall affordability of health care. Other health plans, employers, retail partners and health care innovators who share the belief that patients and their needs come first are invited to join the initiative.

The subsidiary will acquire and develop Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for select generic drugs and partner with Civica and manufacturing partners to bring more affordable generic drugs to uncompetitive markets in exchange for aggregated volume and multiyear purchasing commitments. Initially, several generic medications identified as having high potential for savings will be prioritized by the partnership and will evolve into a platform that can be used to enhance competition for additional generic drugs.

The new operation expected to start delivering product in early 2022. Strong move.

The American Hospital Association now offers a webpage with updates and resources concerning the Wuhan coronavirus.

Midweek update

David Ermer–Federal employment benefits, Medicare–

CVS announced the following six health trends for 2020

  1. Continued evolution in kidney care 
  2. Greater consumer scrutiny on wellness products 
  3. The need for data stewardship as digital health rolls on 
  4. Pharmacies as a tool to reach underserved populations 
  5. Efforts to mitigate loneliness 
  6. Increased transparency around drug pricing 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided to extend Medicare coverage to acupuncture for chronic low back pain as an alternative to opioid based pain killers. The CMS decision ” will cover up to 12 sessions in 90 days with an additional 8 sessions for those patients with chronic low back pain who demonstrate improvement.” Previously Medicare excluded acupuncture from coverage.

Retired OPM official Reg Jones discusses survivor benefits related to federal employment in Fedweek. FEHBP survivor benefits are generous if the prerequisites are met:

If your spouse receives an annuity in any amount and was covered under either the self plus one or self and family option of your FEHB plan, he or she and all eligible children may continue coverage. If the annuity amount is less than the premiums required, your spouse will be able to directly make payments to cover the rest of the cost.