Acting Chairman Murphy Urges Federal Government to Drive Healthcare Improvements
Murphy Encourages OPM to 'lead by example' with Federal Heath Program
Pittsburgh,
Sep 14 -
PITTSBURGH, PA – Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA), chairing a field hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization on Monday, said “the U.S. health care system faces major challenges” and urged the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to “lead by example” in its administration of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Acting Chairman Murphy convened the hearing at the Greentree Municipal Building in Pittsburgh to explore how the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program can enhance its service to Federal employees and serve as a model for improving the performance of the U.S. health system as a whole. “We need to make fundamental changes in the healthcare delivery system paradigm,” Murphy said. “These changes would lower costs, improve efficiency and not just give the people what they want but give them the healthcare they need. Most dramatically, we could help save lives.”
Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) attended the field hearing as well. Davis noted that “market-orientation and consumer choice have been hallmarks of the [FEHBP] program’s success, allowing consumers to tailor their healthcare coverage to their individual needs, and enabling them to compare the costs, benefits, and features of different plans.” With health care premiums rising by more than 10 percent a year over the last five years, Davis agreed with Murphy that the federal government can lead the way. “There are many areas where the Federal government can promote high-quality, affordable, flexible and responsible healthcare for all Americans through the FEHBP, and we must do so,” Davis said.
One of the fundamental changes explored at the hearing included a discussion of getting Americans their own personal computerized health record. Murphy said: “It is time for the health care industry to catch up with grocery stores, banks and auto repair shops and provide individuals with their own computerized health records. The benefits of such technology would be substantial.”
Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management Dan Blair, testifying at the hearing, said OPM will “explore the adoption of a variety of options to speed the nationwide phase-in of health information technology as soon as is practicable.”
In addition to the Deputy Director of OPM, three local experts testified before the Subcommittee. Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, Chair of the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative and President of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation discussed the idea of pay for performance, recommending that plans “pay providers more for good and safe care, and not to reward errors and waste.”
Dr. Alex Axelson, Medical Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry stated that because depression often accompanies other diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as the fact that untreated depression can double the patient’s healthcare costs, the FEHB Program should include behavioral treatment in comprehensive care.
Dr. Neil M. Resnick, Director, University of Pittsburgh, Institute of Aging, testified that because of the prevalence of chronic disease in the elderly and “the number of older retirees within the FEHB Program is roughly 500,000 and growing quickly” the need for coordinate care of chronic diseases is great.
