Mid-week update

OPM is in the process of unveiling a new version of its website.

The FEHBlog has been predicting that the Supreme Court eventually will have overturn the Defense of Marriage Act on federalism grounds. States should have the right to define domestic relations under the Constitution. Joe Davidson weighs in with a column reaching the same conclusion today. A Republican Congress did pass DOMA but Congress could have repealed the law when the Democrats controlled Congress in 2009-10. It didn't Instead lawyers pocket the litigation fees (and of course the FEHBlog as a lawyer has no objection to that.)

Similarly the Administration, according to Modern Healthcare, got the American Medical Association wound up over the doctors' fiscal cliff the 27% cut in Medicare Part B payments to doctors that will occur January 1 if Congress does not take action soon. (What's more under the general fiscal cliff the doctors will get hit with an additional 2% cut in Medicare payments due to the sequestration law.)  In the 1990s a Republican Congress did pass a law that created the sustainable growth rate formula to control Medicare spending on doctor bills. In 2009-2010, Congress considered fixing the sustainable growth rate formula as part of the Affordable Care Act but as Politico explained Speaker Pelosi punted on the issue because the fix was too expensive. As the FEHBlog has noted the CBO has billed a one year extension of the current fix at $25 billion. As Newman said (in Seinfeld) it's a real conundrum. But everyone should have egg on their faces.

We will just have to wait and see what happens now on Capitol Hill.