WASHINGTON, April 17, 2009 – As Congress starts work on a health reform bill, a new publication from citizen advocacy group U.S. PIRG identifies a path to lower costs, not by cutting care, but by delivering better, more efficient care.
"Paying
for What Works" examines the core problem with the America’s health
care delivery system: the skewed payment incentives that drive up
costs and undermine quality of care.
In the document, for
example, U.S. PIRG finds over $299 billion in national health spending
could be saved each year if the innovative, coordinated approach to
health care used by the Utah’s Intermountain Health System were adopted
nationwide.
“Health care reform can not only rein in high
health care costs. Done right, it can help doctors and other providers
be more effective at the job they signed up to do in the first place
–providing real, personalized care to your family,” said U.S. PIRG
Health Care Advocate, Larry McNeely.
Intended to influence
health reform legislation now under development in Congress, this short
policy primer concludes with a detailed set of policy fixes for this
and other delivery system problems.
U.S. PIRG’s brief was released on Friday, April 17th to selected Capitol Hill offices and on U.S. PIRG’s website.
Click here for more information and to download "Paying for What Works."
