Restart of the "Health Care Cost Monitor"

The Health Care Cost Monitor, a Hastings Center blog, has just been restarted.  The Health Care Cost Monitor provides commentary and opinion on cost control as part of the implementation of health care reform and in the broader context of assessing national priorities. It was created to fill a void:  the cost crisis has not been addressed in the public and legislative arenas with the care, depth, and nuance it requires. Starting with the expert analysis and commentary, and inviting reader comments, the HCCM hopes to spawn a conversation that extends beyond itself and to policymakers charged with carrying out health reform and setting spending priorities that enable the country to flourish.

The co-editors explain:  This time we will expand the scope a bit by taking on the work of three ongoing streams of inquiry at The Hastings Center that have significant overlap, and which we call “Costs, Deficits, and Priorities.” Health care costs, and particularly Medicare, are clearly part of the deficit debate. Our project on assessing national priorities is looking at priorities less in terms of government spending and more in terms of what the country needs for a flourishing future – needs that do not rely exclusively on government spending but that bear on the deficit problem. It is a complex mixture, and one we hope the blog can illuminate.