The spotlight in Washington on the federal budget deficit has renewed debate over how best to control health care costs. Recently released budget-reduction proposals, most notably from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and the Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force, include options for reducing federal health spending. In a new blog post, Karen Davis, Cathy Schoen, and Stuart Guterman of The Commonwealth Fund say that, although the proposals contain several ideas that merit consideration, their focus on reining in federal spending, rather than health spending overall, could simply shift costs from the federal government to state and local governments, businesses, and families.
