Medical innovation duels cost containment

The nation's commitment to health cost control will potentially conflict with its deeper commitment to innovation in medical technology--drugs, medical devices, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and administrative infrastructure. Medical technology is implicated in increasing health care costs because, on a net basis, it increases the capabilities of medicine. Conceptual, methodological, institutional, and political factors limit the ability to address the potential conflict; these limits must be confronted and addressed if we are to formulate sound policy responses.