Groups representing hospitals, health-insurance companies, doctors, drug makers, medical-device makers and labor … will promise to help reduce the growth of national health-care spending by 1.5 percentage points in each of the next 10 years. (Wall Street Journal)
Cynicism aside, it’s a good first step. Certainly a far cry from Harry and Louise (though even their views have changed). But remember, a reduction in health care cost growth still means health care cost growth. The left is optimistic, the right is trying to get organized.
Hi, I'm Drew Weilage. 
Yes, all the stakeholders smile and are in agreement that as an industry they must help control the rising cost of health care. Projections of eventually saving each American family some $2500 by what ever year they said is all well and good however as the WSJ points out none of the industry players want to change their profit margines – at least decrease them.
Big insurance is shaking hands and smiling with fingers crossed behind their back saying they are on board with this, they just don’t want a government health plan which would give the private sector insurance some unwanted competion. They’d just be happy with the government mandating health insurance coverage for everyone and the insurance companies would roll out the red carpet to make up the difference.
I doubt that hospitals will be willing to charge less or take less in the way of reimbursments. Providers certainly aren’t going to agree to a salary cut.
If the big players of heatlh care are really interested in taking the cost of health care down a few notches as they say over the next decade than everybody is going to have to take a bite of the sandwich. Health care will not be a money maker for those that work in it any longer. The real way to fix health care can’t be done because it is a business and like every business out there it is greedy.
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