Weekend update

The FEHBlog looks at Twitter in connection with sporting and political events. Consequently, when UConn was playing men's basketball yesterday, he took a look at Twitter and there was the first report of Justice Scalia's death. It took about 30 - 45 minutes (following the Texas Governor's announcement) for the reports to appear in the AP, etc (understandably).  Very sad news.  Here's a Politico link to various legal scholar's viewpoints on this service on the Supreme Court.

Congress is not in town this week. Its sessions resume next week.

OPM posted about the cybersecurity aspects of the President's budget.  OPM has not yet posted its budget justification to Congress. The next piece of the puzzle will be the Congressional Budget Office's estimates of the costs and savings produced by the budget. That publication will be released in March. 

The Hill reports on the progress that is being made to shift the Medicare Part B reimbursement system from a fee for service to a value basis. Congress has allowed five years to complete this process. However, 

While hospitals have been shifting toward alternative payment models under the Affordable Care Act, it will be new for physicians. There are some concerns that a five-year window is not enough time for the national healthcare system to shift into a new delivery model. Some groups are already calling for a delay of the rule.