The Wall Street Journal reports that neither the Republican nor the Democrat crafted bill to end the partial government shutdown received the sixty votes necessary to achieve cloture. The Senate majority and minority leader are discussing compromise which amounts to progress.

Beckers Hospital Review reports that five health systems located in the northeast and central midwest (but not DC surprisingly) are offering furloughed federal employees breaks on cost sharing. Kudos to them.

Kaiser Health News reports that President Trump supports the effort to surprise billings on emergency care. The best idea that the FEHBlog has noticed lately is for hospitals to have their contracted healthcare providers, like emergency medical groups, join the preferred provider networks to which the hospital belongs.

Healthpayer Intelligence informs us that three large payers, Aetna, Anthem, and HCSC, have partnered with IBM and PNC Bank to bring blockchain technology to healthcare.

“The aim is to create an inclusive blockchain network that can benefit multiple members of the healthcare ecosystem in a secure, shared environment,” the companies stated. The goal is to allow the blockchain network to enable healthcare companies to build, share and deploy solutions that drive digital transformation in the industry.”

The first step for the collaboration — dubbed a health utility network — is identifying use cases that demonstrate the usefulness of blockchain for secure health data exchange. Work will then turn to signing up additional members ranging from providers to developers.

Go get ’em.

In a similar vein, Healthcare Dive discusses healthcare industry reaction to the use of artificial intelligence. The FEHBLog early this morning listened to Fox Business correspondent Maria Bartiromo interview the IBM CEO Ginni Rometti . Ms. Rometti explained how her company uses AI to help employees identify their best career paths within the company. Healthcare Dive adds that

AI currently holds the most promise in administrative and operational practice, where it has the potential to alleviate the burden of tedious tasks that fuel burnout. One such example is currently in use at Cleveland Clinic, where an AI platform that was initially built for retail is being used to track hospital bed use. The platform is able to identify where processes break down by monitoring resources and patient movements through the OR.