Yesterday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on the financial condition of the U.S. Postal Service.  The upshot of the hearing according to reports from Govexec.com and the Federal News Network is that the Committee wants a 10 year financial stability plan from the Postal Service before it will move forward with postal reform legislation. The Postal Service is expected to submit the plan to Congress this July.

The Congressional Budget Office released a lengthy report today on policy considerations of single payer legislation. Modern Healthcare observes that the CBO report “largely put a damper on the idea of a U.S. single payer healthcare system.” Check it out.

Last week, the FEHBlog heard Centers for Disease Control experts talk about the importance of including pharmacists in care management teams.  Over 20 years ago, the FEHBlog heard a pharmacist working at a PBM make the same point. She suggested that health plans should compensate pharmacists for their consumer advice. In this regard, its worth pointing out this Forbes article reporting that

[The pharmacy chain] Walgreens has partnered with the National Council for Behavioral Health and the American Pharmacists Association to make training available to Walgreens pharmacy staffers in “mental health first aid,” which those involved say will help assist patients suffering from mental health conditions or substance abuse.

Walgreen’s has given mental health first aid its own website.