An article from today’s Washington Post, Health bills too timid on cutting costs, experts say, explores the way in which the healthcare reform debate is now being shaped.
The article includes an interview with White House budget director Peter Orszag.
Some of the main points:
- “Instead of revolutionizing how care is delivered and paid for, experts say, the legislation being shaped takes a cautious approach to reining in costs.
- Previous attempts tried “taming healthcare growth with price controls — in government reimbursements and through managed care.” Currently the administration is “moving away from fee-for-service payments” to a “coordinated system that pays doctors and hospitals for doing better.”
- “An array of Medicare pilot projects….aimed at paying doctors and hospitals for quality rather than quantity would take years to be implemented nationally.”
