A newly controversial provision in the stimulus bill calls for funding to study medical drugs, devices and procedures.
All Things Considered, February 16, 2009 · In Washington, Republicans are already warming up their arguments against what they anticipate will be President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system.
At issue is a heretofore bipartisan — and relatively noncontroversial — provision included in the massive economic stimulus bill about to clear Congress. It calls for $1.1 billion to study, in essence, how well various medical drugs, devices and procedures work.
Currently, prescription drugs and medical devices must show they are safe and effective before they can be marketed. But they don't have to prove they are better or more cost-effective than other treatments already available. Currently, there is little research in this country to compare whether drugs work better than surgery or other types of treatments.
Many experts say that finding out what works best could help both improve care and cut down on expensive care that doesn't work — as well as less expensive alternatives.
"More research on what works and what doesn't, tied to financial incentives to provide the higher-value care, could help to reduce costs without harming quality," said health economist Peter Orszag, who at the time of the comment was director of the Congressional Budget Office. Orszag is now President Obama's budget director. "We currently have a set of financial incentives just for more care. And we need a set of financial incentives for better care. And part of that requires knowing what better care is," Orszag said.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100671453
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