Health Economists Urge Passage of Reform

[dtotire]

Health Economists Urge Passage of Reform
By DAVID LEONHARDT

Obviously, not all economists are in favor of the current proposals in Congress. But a pretty impressive list of health economists and other policy experts has released a letter making the following argument:

We commend the President’s pursuit of bipartisan solutions. Yet the summit made plain that it is now time to move decisively and quickly to enact comprehensive reform. We believe that the only workable process at this point is to use the President’s proposal to finish the job. After long debate, the House and Senate have passed two similar bills that do crucial things to improve U.S. health care.

The signers include Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel laureate and behavioral economist; David Cutler and Len Nichols, who have advised Congress on health policy over the last year; Theda Skocpol, the political scientist; and Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution. You can see the full list below.

Like many on this list (and like some opponents of the current bills), I wish the bills did more to reduce cost hpgrowth. But after watching the debate over the last year — and seeing just how bad the politics of cost control are — I wonder when we will next see a bill that goes even as far as these do.


more:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/health-economists-urge-passage-of-reform/?hp