Federal News Network reports that Postmaster General Megan Brennan is retiring on January 31, 2020, after five years in her current position and 33 years at the Postal Service.
This summer, Brennan told members of the House Oversight Committee that absent postal reform — either from Congress or from the Postal Regulatory Commission — USPS was on track to run out of cash by 2024.
Members of the House and Senate have introduced several postal reform bills over the past few years, but none have made it far in Congress despite bipartisan support. Most of the bills would address a 2006 mandate for USPS to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees.
Because of this requirement, USPS has defaulted on billions of dollars in payments to the fund.
Meanwhile, Postal Service officials this summer briefed committee members on a draft business plan that would outline the agency’s path forward for the next 10 years.
Modern Healthcare reports that
Use of opioid-alternative pain medications is surging as the U.S. tries to wean off the addictive painkillers, giving physicians concern that the opioid crisis will be substituted by a new prescription drug epidemic, according to a new report.
Nearly two-thirds of primary-care physicians shared that sentiment while nearly three-quarters worry that chronic pain patients will turn to illicit drugs if they do not have access to prescription opioids, according to a new report from Quest Diagnostics, which polled 500 primary-care doctors and analyzed 4.4 million lab test results. The report reflects physicians’ apprehension that the healthcare system is ill-equipped to properly transition from an over-utilization of opioids.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
The Wall Street Journal tells us that
Doctors are urging Americans to get their flu shots right away after a bad flu season in Australia has raised concerns about the coming season in the U.S.
Public health experts often look to the Southern Hemisphere’s influenza patterns for clues of what’s to come. This year Australia saw an earlier-than-usual peak of flu cases and had a tough season overall. The predominant flu strain in Australia, as in recent years in the U.S., was the H3N2 virus, which generally causes more severe illness, particularly among the elderly, and more hospitalizations and deaths.
“It does lead you to believe that this H3N2 virus is definitely on the move and is changing, which is never a good situation,” says pediatrician Randy Bergen, clinical lead for the Kaiser Permanente flu vaccine program in Northern California. “It does make me a little bit more nervous than I am in general looking ahead to the flu season.”
And Health Care Dive lets us know that
Medical practices continue to be frustrated with red tape and reporting requirements, with 86% saying regulatory burden has increased in the past 12 months, according to a Medical Group Management Association survey released this week.
Prior authorization was the main culprit — 83% of respondents said that issue was either “very” or “extremely” burdensome. The Medicare Quality Payment Program, which includes the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, was next with 77%. Rounding out the top five were audits and appeals, lack of EHR interoperability and Medicare Advantage chart audits.
It’s interesting that these Medicare oriented objections exist notwithstanding CMS’s Patients over Paperwork initiative. It appears that CMS has more work to do.