Federal Daily - April 8, 2008

GAO: DoD Needs to Curb Retail Pharmacy Use

DoD needs to develop more incentives to divert TRICARE beneficiaries from using high-cost retail pharmacies, which are projected to help drive DoD prescription drug spending to $15 billion by 2015, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.  DoD’s prescription drug spending more than tripled from $1.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2000 to $6.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2006, with retail pharmacy spending driving most of the increase, said the report, released April 4. DoD, which provides pharmacy benefits to about 9 million beneficiaries through TRICARE, has been able to rein in some costs by adjusting its drug formulary; requiring the use of less expensive generic drugs when available; and offering financial incentives for beneficiaries to use mail-order pharmacies. Higher co-payments at retail pharmacies are one way to encourage beneficiaries to use the less expensive mail order option; however Congress has prohibited any increase to retail pharmacy co-payments in the program through Fiscal Year 2008. GAO recommended DoD continue to monitor the effect of federal pricing arrangements for drugs dispensed at retail pharmacies and do what it can to reduce the growth in retail pharmacy spending. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/highlights/d08327high.pdf.

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Federal Court Dismisses APWU Lawsuit

A federal court dismissed a lawsuit by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services (CAPS) that argued for more open access to the meetings and records of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC), which consists primarily of high-level USPS officials and large mailers. In the ruling last month, U.S. District Judge James Robertson held that MTAC is not bound by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires public access to the meetings and minutes of federal agency advisory committees. The judge ruled that the Postal Reorganization Act granted USPS a broad exemption from many of the laws that constrain the day-to-day administration of other federal agencies. APWU President William Burrus said he was disappointed by the ruling, but vowed to continue working to open up the MTAC meetings. “The APWU is deeply concerned that the Postal Service has relinquished its strategic policy-making to the largest mailers, and that it has done so in secret,” Burrus said in an April 2 statement. To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/webart/2008/webart-0828-mtac_lawsuit-080402.htm.

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FERC Reports Loss of Ex-Employee Data

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 4 reported the loss of a three-ring binder containing the names and Social Security numbers of 2,810 former employees who had left government service from between October 1983 and August 2007. The binder contained copies of packing slips—which included names and Social Security numbers of the former employees—for all boxes of official personnel files shipped to the National Archives and Records Center in St. Louis, Mo. The binder was last seen Feb. 20, 2008, and was reported missing on March 3, FERC said in a statement. An internal investigation by FERC’s Information Technology Security Division concluded that the binder was mistakenly discarded in the trash and not stolen. “We are confident there was no theft involved and the likelihood of this information being exposed is low,” FERC Executive Director Tom Herlihy said. “But FERC wants to be cautious and has taken all possible steps to fully protect and inform our former employees.” To see more, go to:  www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2008/2008-2/04-04-08.asp.

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