Congress remains in session on Capitol Hill this week. We are less than three weeks away from the November 21 continuing resolution deadline. The Senate has passed passed a consolidated domestic appropriations bill (HR 3055) last week  It needs to pass two other consolidated bills, including defense and then the two Houses can hold a conference committee. That’s unlikely to happen within two weeks and it’s therefore likely that Congress will punt the issue down the road into early 2020 as noted in this space recently. Why o why hasn’t the Senate approved the House passed bill repealing the ACA’s high cost health plan excise tax a/k/a the Cadillac tax?

The federal benefits open season begins on November 11, one week from tomorrow. The FEHBllog was pleased to see that OPM already already has launched the 2020 version of its online plan comparison tool. The FEHBlog is puzzled why CMS has not released the 2020 Medicare Parts A and B premium and  cost sharing information yet.

Health Payer Intelligence offers an article explaining why health savings accounts are useful for all employees, including the younger generations. .