We have reached the end of 2015. Last week, I provided a list of FEHBP-related surprises in 2015. I should have added to the list the smooth implementation of the ICD-10 coding set. That was another heavy lift for the health care industry. The FEHBlog hopes that the more granular ICD-10 codes pay off for the data miners.
The House of Representatives will be back in session on Capitol Hill next Monday while the Senate will return on January 11. The FEHBlog would not be surprised if Congress tackles the prescription drug cost problem in 2016. The problem with specialty drugs is illustrated by this Wall Street Journal article. The Washington Post reminds us that most people (like the FEHBlog) use low cost generic drugs.
ProPublica and NPR seek to bring the hammer down on repeat healthcare privacy offenders. These advocates wants the government to crack down on repeat offenders, but as the FEHBlog has explained there is a significant expense associated with remedying data breaches, regardless of whether the HHS Office for Civil Rights gets involved. More details can be found in this Ponemon Institute report.
Happy New Year.
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