Tuesday's Tidbits

Modern Healthcare confirms that Congress is likely to pass another Medicare Part B doctor payment patch this week rather than allow a rough 20% cut in those payments go into effect next month.

The Washington Post and Govexec.com posted articles about OPM's 2015 call letter for FEHB carrier benefit and rate proposals.

Fedsmith.com posted an article about an OPM letter to benefit officers providing details on the scheduled 2016 implementation of a self plus one enrollment option in the FEHBP.

Fierce Health Finance.com reports that

Hospital inpatient prices increased 1.4 percent year-over-year [from February 2013 to February 2014], according to producer price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). They grew 0.3 percent between January and February {2014]. By contrast, the product price for hospital outpatient care increased 3.5 percent between February 2013 and February 2014, by far the biggest price increase among all the healthcare services studied.