The new architects of health care reform

Rising health care costs have been an issue for decades, yet federal-level health care reform hasn't happened. Support for reform, however, has changed. Purchasers fear that health care cost growth is becoming unaffordable. Research on costs and quality is questioning value. International comparisons rank the United States low on important health system performance measures. Yet it is not these factors but the unsustainable costs of Medicare and Medicaid that will narrow the window for health care stakeholders to shape policy. Unless the health care system is effectively reformed, sometime after the 2008 election, budget hawks and national security experts will eventually combine forces to cut health spending, ultimately determining health policy for the nation.