The FEHBlog is back from the beach and will be carefully following the Scotusblog's live coverage of the Supreme Court's decision day tomorrow morning.
The House and the Senate are in session this coming week before the Fourth of July holiday. No doubt the outcome of the Supreme Court's healthcare decision may be impact their schedule this week.
The Washington Post had front page coverage on Saturday about a cool arrangement between Aetna and Inova Health Systems which seeks to coordinate care and bend the cost curve down. Indeed the arrangement will share any savings with participating employers in northern Virginia where Inova is located. What puzzles me about the article is its man hits dog tone. Cooperation like this between insurers and providers is good news. Insurers don't need to be banged on the head to recognize the benefits of collaboration. Insurers are incented to control costs like this regardless of the Affordable Care Act's status. The article criticizes providers for their reliance on fee for service medicine but that reliance stems from the fact the Medicare and Medicaid are so penurious in their payments. It will take innovation like this to change the rubric.
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