Jan. 13, 2017
Welcome to Federal Health Update. This newsletter is a compilation of the latest news in the federal health care sector.
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Executive and Congressional News
- The Senate voted 87-13 to waive the law barring military officials from becoming defense secretary within seven years of their military service for Ret. Gen. James Mattis on Jan 12, 2017. Mattis is President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense. Mattis retired from active duty in 2013.
Military Health Care News
- The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced that Dr. Karen Guice, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, currently performing the duties of the assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, would be an inaugural recipient of the HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Award.
Established in 2016, the HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Awards celebrate “those female visionaries harnessing the power of information technology to transform health and health care.” To be eligible, nominees needed to have demonstrated “active leadership of the effective use of IT in support of the strategic initiatives of her organization.”
For more than six years, Guice has overseen and moved forward a number of critical health information technology initiatives improving military medical readiness, health and health care for the 9.4 million Americans who rely on the MHS for their care, and the millions of veterans who have transitioned from Department of Defense (DoD) care to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Most recently, she helped lead the acquisition of MHS GENESIS, a new Electronic Health Record that will be deployed around the globe in 55 hospitals, more than 360 outpatient clinics and on the battlefield in support of military operations.
HIMSS described the seven awardees as follows: “Each Awardee collaborates and innovates within her area of health IT-related expertise. Each understands, and has acted upon, the power of harnessing the best of IT across many different components of health and health care including nursing, pharmacy, medicine, government, public policy, industry and business management. The accomplishments of these women matter not only within their respective organizations, but across the health care trajectory.”
Guice will be honored along with the other recipients at an awards dinner Feb. 20, 2017, in Orlando, Florida, during the annual HIMSS conference.
- A provision of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Actincludes a pilot on Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID) for TRICARE beneficiaries.
The University's V-BID Center Director A. Mark Fendrick said V-BID aims to change the national conversation on health care, from how much money is spent to how well it is spent.
“The fact that you pay the same amount out of pocket for every drug — whether it be a life-saving drug or a drug that makes your toenail fungus go away — makes no sense to me,” Fendrick said.
In astudyconducted byV-BID Healthand theAmerican Health Policy Health Institutewhich reviewed the spending of 35 health insurance companies, the results showed that $2 billion of the $10 billion in net funds were allocated for wasteful and unnecessary health care spending.
The pilot of V-BID will involve military individuals and families who are enrolled in the TRICARE program. The NDAA states the TRICARE program will provide high-quality medications and providers to covered beneficiaries while reducing the price of care.
Since the creation of the V-BID Center, a number of initiatives that are not limited to health care reform for military members and their families have been developed. The center also works to increase V-BID outreach to state Medicaid or Medicare plans, state employee health plans and specialty pharmaceuticals.
Already, value-based insurance design has been tested in a number of health care plans and is included in section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act. TheCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Servicesreport there are 11 Medicare Advantage plans participating in the Medicare Advantage V-BID Model.
“The good news about both the TRICARE pilot and Medicare pilot is that if both evaluations are shown to improve quality of care, improve the patient experience and temper health care cost growth," Fendrick said. "The V-BID principles can be expanded to all 50 states for Medicare and throughout the TRICARE program without any further regulatory intervention.”
Veterans Affairs News
- On Jan. 11, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced he plans to nominate David Shulkin to be his Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Shulkin is a board-certified internist and was the CEO or chief medical officer of several hospitals and hospital systems in New York and New Jersey.
Trump promised during his presidential campaign to overhaul the VA so that veterans wouldn’t have to wait for careand could choose to get care outside the VA if they wanted. Currently, they can do that if they can’t get a VA appointment within 30 days or within 40 miles of their homes.
Shulkin has said he favors a hybrid model, where the VA provides care that it specializes in, such as treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and loss of limbs, and consider discontinuing other services that the private sector may better provide, such as obstetrics and gynecology.
Shulkin is not a U.S. veteran.
General Health Care News
- A new CDC study demonstrates that Americans living in rural areas are more likely to die from five leading causes than their urban counterparts.
Some 46 million Americans — 15 percent of the U.S. population — currently live in rural areas. Several demographic, environmental, economic and social factors might put rural residents at higher risk of death from these public health conditions. Residents of rural areas in the United States tend to be older and sicker than their urban counterparts. They have higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity. Rural residents report less leisure-time physical activity and lower seatbelt use than their urban counterparts. They also have higher rates of poverty, less access to healthcare, and are less likely to have health insurance.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which houses the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, will collaborate with CDC on the series and will help to promote the findings and recommendations to rural communities.
In the study, mortality data for U.S. residents was analyzed from the National Vital Statistics System.
To read the entire report and companion commentary:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report, showing that more than 11.5 million people nationwide signed up for Health Insurance Marketplace coverage as of Dec. 24, 2016, an increase of 286,000 plan selections relative to the comparable period last year.
- 4.8 million female and 4.0 million male consumers.
- 3.9 million White, 584,000 African-American, 882,000 Latino, and 573,000 Asian consumers.
- 1.6 million rural Americans.
- 840,000 children, 2.3 million adults age 18-34, 3.2 million adults age 35-54, and 2.5 million older Americans. The share of consumers age 18-34, 26 percent, is the same as last year at this time.
The report also shows that Marketplace consumers are actively engaged with their coverage. Among HealthCare.gov returning consumers, 65 percent came back to the Marketplace and actively selected a plan, an increase from last year’s already high 60 percent active renewal rate.
Open Enrollment continues through January 31st. Last year, enrollment slowed in the middle of January but spiked in the days before the final deadline. Plan selection totals will also fluctuate over the remainder of Open Enrollment as some consumers choose to cancel their plans, for example in response to life changes like starting a new job with employer coverage or gaining eligibility for Medicare or Medicaid.
Consumers have until Jan. 15th to sign up for coverage that starts Feb. 1st. With millions of Americans still in need of health insurance for 2017, HHS will continue its outreach to make sure uninsured Americans know about the coverage and financial assistance available through HealthCare.gov.
An estimated 72 percent of Marketplace consumers can find plans for less than $75 per month, and the large majority of Marketplace consumers nationwide are satisfied with their coverage and report that it offers them financial security and access to care. Consumers should visit HealthCare.gov or CuidadodeSalud.gov, their state Marketplace, or call 1-800-318-2596 to review their coverage options, learn about what financial assistance is available, or to sign up or re-enroll in a plan that best meets their needs.
To read this report and see state level tables visit:
Reports/Policies
- The GAO published “Indian Health Service: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Quality of Care,” (GAO-17-181) on Jan. 9, 2017. This report examines IHS's oversight of the quality of care provided in its federally operated facilities.
The GAO published “Public Health Emergencies: HHS Needs to Better Communicate Requirements and Revise Plans for Assessing Impact of Personnel Reassignment,” (GAO-17-187) on Jan. 9, 2017. This report examines IHS's oversight of the quality of care provided in its federally operated facilities.
Hill Hearings
- There are no health-related hearingsscheduled next week.
Legislation
- There was no legislation proposed this week.
Meetings
- A National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health webinar: "Disaster Behavioral Health Education: Education Fact Sheets to Enhance Preparedness and Response,” will be held on Jan. 18, 2017, at 11:00 am. Call in: 1-888-537-7715; Participant Code: 39933371
- HIMSS 2017 Annual Conference will be held on Feb. 19-23, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.
- The Heroes of Military Medicine Awards will be held on May 4, 2017, in Washington, DC.
- The 7th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference will be held May 24-25, 2017, in Washington DC.
If you need further information on any item in the Federal Health Update, please contact Kate Theroux at (703) 447-3257 or by e-mail at.
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