Congress remains in session this coming week on Capitol Hill. Here’s a link to the Week in Congress’s report on last week’s actions there.
Govexec.com reports that late last week the President and OPM moved forward with implementing the pay raise and additional pay localities the Congress recently approved.
“Now that OPM has issued the new pay tables and guidance, agencies and payroll providers will work quickly to update their systems and process retroactive pay actions,” the [OPM] spokesperson said. “The exact timing of implementation may vary. Employees should consult their human resource office or payroll providers for further information.”
In disappointing news for small businesses, a federal judge in Washington, DC, has torpedoed the Administration’s association health plan rule. It’s not clear whether this decision will be stayed while the Administration appeals. Several insured association health plans already have been launched.
Healthcare IT News reports that the America’s Health Insurance Plans is concerned about an HHS proposed rule that would impose new electronic health care information interoperability rules in Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and qualified health plans in the federal exchange effective January 1, 2020. Assuming that the concept is OK, the timing is too rushed.
Following up on a FEHBlog post from a week ago Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced a “Compliance Review Program to ensure compliance among covered entities with HIPAA Administrative Simplification rules for electronic health care transactions.”
In April 2019, HHS will randomly select 9 HIPAA-covered entities—a mix of health plans and clearinghouses—for Compliance Reviews. Any health plan or clearinghouse—not just those who work with Medicare or Medicaid—may be selected. In 2018, HHS piloted the program with health plan and clearinghouse volunteers to streamline the compliance review process and identify any system enhancements. In 2019, providers will be able to participate in a separate pilot program on a voluntary basis.
Finally, the Cleveland Clinic has named its top 10 healthcare innovations of 2019. Check it out.