Mid-week update

Happy Halloween!  As we inch ever closer to the beginning of Open Season on November 12, OPM announced today that it has reactivated its Federal Benefits Facebook page (which the FEHBlog likes) and its Twitter feed (which the FEHBlog follows).

The Federal Times offered its first Open Season article yesterday on the topic of whether a low premium FEHB plan may be the right choice.

Following up on the Weekend post about health care costs, the FEHBlog noticed that AHIP is now offering an Ipad app called "U.S. Health Care Spending 101,” that "provides policymakers and stakeholders with comprehensive health care spending data in an easy-to-use digital format."

As you know from reading the FEHBlog, the FEHBlog's money is on personalized medicine bringing down the cost curve. The Wall Street Journal has an article aibout the progress being made in that area.

The AMA News claims that there's a new trend toward domestic medical tourism, but the upshot is that many large employer health plans are refocusing attention on centers of excellence for certain high cost procedures like transplants. This good idea is nothing new. You will find that most FEHB plans particularly the nationwide plans offer centers of excellence arrangements.

Yesterday's Washington Post had an article about domestic medical tourism from an uninsured individual's standpoint. Hip replacement surgery overseas or in Oklahoma City?

OPM has required for the past two years that FEHB plan offer comprehensive tobacco cessation program with no enrollee cost sharing. Forbes Magazine reports that "Four new studies offer powerful evidence of the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of quitting or not being exposed to secondhand smoke."

As the FEHBlog has mentioned, November 12 also will feature the return of Congress for its lame duck session. One must pass measure is legislation postponing the Medicare Part B's sustainable rate of growth formula driven cut in Medicare payments to doctors or in the AMA's dreams repeal and replacement of the SRG formula. The AMA News this week lays out the medical community's repeal and replace strategy. Time will tell.