Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic says it's a large deal and it will be announced tomorrow. Even more, he says this means healthcare reform will come this year.
Top representatives of the health care industry plan to offer $2 trillion in cost reductions over 10 years in a bid to help pass President Barack Obama's health overhaul, a source familiar with the negotiations said Sunday.Groups that are involved according to the AP: America's Health Insurance Plans, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the Service Employees International Union.
Industry officials representing health insurers, hospitals, doctors, drug makers and a major labor union plan to be at White House on Monday to present the offer.
Costs have emerged as the biggest obstacle to Obama's ambitious plan to provide health insurance for everybody. The upfront tab for the federal government from Obama's proposed expansion of health coverage will be due right away while the savings he expects from wringing waste and inefficiency from the health care system will take longer to show up.
A source outside the administration told The Associated Press that the savings would come from slowing projected cost increases by a small percentage each year for 10 years. The result over time would be an estimated $2 trillion in savings on health care costs. The source requested anonymity in order to speak before the public announcement. AP
From the WSJ:
Monday's pledge doesn't aim at cutting health-care spending overall, but merely restraining its rate of growth.
Groups representing hospitals, health-insurance companies, doctors, drug makers, medical-device makers and labor are joining in Monday's announcement. According to a letter from the groups, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, they will promise to help reduce the growth of national health-care spending by 1.5 percentage points in each of the next 10 years. "The times demand and the nation expects that we, as health care leaders, work with you to reform the health care system," the letter says.
Currently, the U.S. spends more than $2 trillion a year on health care, or at least 16% of gross domestic product. Spending rose 6.1% in 2007. If that rate of growth can be kept in check, it would help employers and make it easier for the government to keep Medicare from blowing a hole in the federal budget over the long term.....
Mr. Obama has said he wants his health-care overhaul to improve the quality of care and lower costs. The White House is leaving the details to Congress while working behind the scenes to guide the effort. This week, the Senate plans meetings on how to widen coverage and pay for the plan.
