The Challenges Of Controlling Health Care's Wasteful Spending

Topics: Health Costs, Marketplace

Dec 08, 2011

California Healthline: What a Waste: Why We Can't Rein In Extra Health Spending

The National Health Care Antifraud Association says outright abuse represents 3 percent of all health care spending. PricewaterhouseCoopers casts a broader net; the firm suggests that more than 50 percent of total health spending is driven by inefficiencies like overtesting, medical errors and even Americans' bad behaviors. But health care stakeholders of all stripes agree on two counts. 1) Our health system is wasteful. 2) We must do more to rein it in. If only it was that easy (Diamond, 12/7).

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