Congress returns to Capitol Hill this week.

The Federal Times reports that “The federal government will soon be announcing the award of a contract to study what compensation and reward practices matter most to federal employees and stand the greatest chance of encouraging merit in government service, according to Margaret Weichert, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.”  The article adds that  “According to Weichert, pay and benefits both received above 60 percent in [Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey] FEVS satisfaction scores, while performance rewards scored between 30 and 40 percent. * * * Those rewards may include practices that improve work-life balance, provide better access to job progression or offer training to transition into more-needed, higher-paying positions.”

The Government Accountability Office issued a report last week finding that

There may be several companies selling health insurance in a given market, but we’ve previously found that most people generally enroll with one of a few companies. When that happens, it can mean less competition and higher premiums for that area.

We updated our work with more recent private insurance data. The overall story is similar: The 3 largest companies held 80% or more of the market in at least 37 states. 

Modern Healthcare reports on an Urban Institute report that builds on the GAO findings.  Any competition is better than Medicare for all in the FEHBlog’s view.