Industry Groups Pledge to Cut Healthcare Costs by $2 Trillion

The White House has announced that several healthcare industry groups have pledged to help reduce healthcare spending by 1.5 percent a year over the next ten years. These groups promised to help reform the healthcare system to make it more cost efficient.

The groups, which include the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, American Health Insurance Plans, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, have not outlined a specific plan for how they plan to save the US $2 trillion, despite increasing healthcare costs. They plan to disclose more details after meeting with President Obama.

Areas of focus for reform include: standardization, use of evidence-based best practices and treatments, health information technology, administrative simplification, and the use of quality-based incentives.

Source: The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051002222.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009051002328