New group sets sights on curbing health care costs

The Partnership for Sustainable Health Care, which is made up of leaders representing insurers, employers, consumers and a hospital, aims to put political muscle behind ideas about controlling costs and boosting quality.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Groups Seek To Fast-Track Efforts To Curb Costs, Boost Quality
Five veteran health care leaders representing insurers, hospitals, employers and consumers on Thursday outlined an ambitious set of recommendations aimed at slowing rising costs, focused mainly on changing the way America pays for health care (Appleby, 4/11).

The Washington Post's WonkBlog: Obamacare Expanded Health Access. Now Supporters Want Another Bill To Tackle Costs.
Five health policy wonks walk into a room and start talking about how to bend the health-care cost curve - stop us if you've heard this one before. Plans to bend the health-care cost curve are pretty plentiful in the nation's capital. Lots of think tanks and coalitions have plans to cut billions (even trillions) in health-care spending. The Partnership for Sustainable Health Care argues it's something different. The new alliance, which includes health plans, a hospital and consumer advocates, isn't looking to bring fresh ideas to the debate. It recognizes this city has no shortage of think tank proposals (Kliff, 4/11).

In related news -

Medpage Today: Docs Told They Must Drive Health System Change
Doctors are the only people who can drive the change in health care delivery that's needed to save the country from a financial crisis, a health policy expert said here. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, chair of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, called physicians the most important group in determining the future of the U.S., because others who have tried to incite health delivery reform have run into a brick wall when doctors weren't on board (Pittman, 4/11).