Some market-oriented economists have long contended that the best way to get a handle on rising health care costs is to give patients more control over the type of services they consume and the prices they pay for them. There are increasing signs that the market is gravitating in this direction. In the last several years employers have been setting up so-called “consumer-directed” plans, which put more responsibility for selecting the appropriate provider at the right price in the hands of employees—in exchange for potential financial gains.
Medical errors and claims of malpractice are a fact of daily life, according to the Institute of Medicine and other researchers. For doctors, hospitals and other providers, so are rising malpractice premiums, which recent reports suggest may be hurting providers’ ability to administer care in some regions of the country and in some specialties, such as obstetrics.
After years of discussion and debate, both Houses of Congress passed bills providing for Medicare prescription drug coverage in July, 2003. In September 2003, conferees from both the House and Senate resumed their attempt to iron out the differences between the two bills and enact the most extensive expansion of the Medicare program since its inception.
