Mid-week update

Today is the big hearing in the U.S. v. Texas case which presents a renewed challenge to the Affordable Care Act's constitutionality. A trial court level decision is likely to be rendered before Election Day. In all likelihood, a decision against the ACA's constitutionality would be stayed until the case reaches the Supreme Court. It should be a catalyst for Congressional action while the case winds it way through the courts. The FEHBP will keep chugging along in the meantime.

The Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee hearing featuring a Blue Cross FEP expert, David Yoder, will be held this morning. His prepared testimony is available here.

Modern Healthcare reports on the growing trend of hospitals acquiring physician practices.

This is a ubiquitous trend in the U.S. and I can tell you that there is virtually no state less with less than a quarter of physicians that have already been purchased by now," said Richard Scheffler, University of California, Berkeley professor and the study's lead author. "The impact of these type of verticals is much more powerful when the hospital itself has a lot of market power and can jack up prices."  The national share of hospital-employed physicians increased from 30% to 48% from 2010 to 2016, researchers found.

In the FEHBlog's view, rhe government's focus on healthcare performance metrics embodied in the ACA is a primary driver of consolidation in the provider and insurance markets. Better, deeper data and control leads to better scores.  However, the negatives, like price increases outweigh the positives. 

Finally, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb issued a detailed update on his agency's efforts to combat the opioid crisis last week. Here's a link.