“Falling Far Short of Reform,” The New York Times

Making the medical system more efficient is, in short, about saving lives and giving Americans a long overdue raise. It is arguably the single most important step that the federal government could take to improve people’s lives.

And the bill that the House of Representatives passed last weekend simply does not get it done.

“Health Savings? No One Knows,” Politico:

Barack Obama ran for president on a promise of saving the typical family $2,500 a year in lower health care premiums.

But that was then.

No one in the White House is making such a pledge now.

It’s one of the most basic, kitchen-table questions of the entire reform debate: Would the sweeping $900 billion overhaul actually lower spiraling insurance premiums for everyone? 

No one really knows.

[snip]

[MIT economist Jon] Gruber, the favorite economist of the White House, said the bill “really doesn’t bend the cost curve.” … Reminded that Obama demanded a bill that lowers health care spending, Gruber said: “That is what he would like to do. But he’s not doing it.”

 “Some Vaguely Heretical Thoughts About on Health Care Reform,”The New Yorker