Weekend Update

The House of Representatives in in recess this week while the Senate continues to work on the Hurricane Sandy relief legislation according to the Hill.

Modern Healthcare reports that health care "reform brightens the [finanial] outlook" for for profit hospital chains like HCA and Tenet. The chains already have taken their bitter medicine over the cliff deal and sequestration, the next shoe to drop on March 1, will hit doctors, not hospitals, with a 2% Medicare cut which has the AMA News freaking out.

The S&P Healthcare Index for the 12 months ended November 2012 (the most recent report) was up 5.07%, a deceleration from the 5.27% rate reported for the prior month. The Professional Services Commercial Index remained over 9%.  The Hospital Commercial Index hit its lowest rate since the index began in January 2005 -- an annual growth rate of 4.26%.

Modern Health care also reports on health plan and healthcare provider efforts to lower the cost of specialty drugs -- a concern that OPM raised in the March 2012 benefits and rates proposal call letter. When will the Food and Drug Administration finally create the regulatory pathway for biosimilar or generic specialty drugs which Congress requested almost three years ago. The European Union created this gateway over a decade ago. Puzzling indeed.

Government Health IT provides five sensible tips for health care providers and health plans to prepare for an HHS Office for Civil Rights audit of their compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Enforcement efforts will only continue to ramp up as we hit the fourth anniversary of the HITECH Act's passage as part of the early 2009 financial stimulus law.