Mr. Guterman: Yes, though it’s hard to predict just how much. You’ve got a system now that pays for more care, more complicated care, and more invasive care, but not more appropriate and efficient care. So you’ve got to figure that if you change the focus from more to better and from more invasive to more appropriate, that you can make some difference in lowering costs.
Stuart Guterman is vice president for payment and system reform at the Commonwealth Fund in Washington, D.C. The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that supports research on the health care system.