USATODAY: …The analysts do agree on one thing, even if they don’t necessarily agree on how to go about it: Cutting costs through provider payments, rather than through the health care system itself, won’t cause health care costs to stabilize.
“I think with the lack of continuity in care and excess costs to the system, the very best way to address the problem is to improve care,” Berwick said.
That’s partially built into the law with a move toward coordinated care in Medicare, as well as charging hospitals if a Medicare patient is readmitted for preventable issues. But more must come from prevention, experts say… (more)
EDITOR: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) was always meant as only a first step. If both political parties could agree to a non-partisan advisory group and follow its recommendations, great progress could be made towards reducing our bloated health care cost (18% of Gross Domestic Product which is almost twice as much as most other advanced countries)and improving our health care for the general population which is rated around 13th in the world, next to Cuba.
