A Time article today asks where real health reform went, and what happened to the goal of decreasing national health-care spending. Writes Karen Tumulty:
...What about President Obama's pledge to pass a measure that reins in the larger forces driving up health care costs? Or his vow that a reformed system would deliver more-efficient care, with better results for patients? That's where the legislation could fall well short of the promises.
Tumulty notes that some health economists are "watching in dismay" as important cost-saving measures are cut out of the debate. Stanford's Alan Garber, MD, PhD, comments, "It may be that the intersection between what economists consider good policy and [what Washington considers] good politics is very small."
Previously: Health economists give Obama their two cents on reform
