MedCity morning read, Wednesday, March 18

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Three powerful chairmen in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to work together on legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system, according to the New York Times.

The chairmen are George Miller (California), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Henry A. Waxman (also California), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Charles B. Rangel (New York), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

“We intend to work from a single bill, and have that bill considered by the House before the August recess,” Rep. Waxman told the Times.

The House Democrats could be joined by Senate Democrats Max Baucus (Montana) and Edward Kennedy (Massachusetts), who have similar agendas and timetables for reform, the Times said.

Reforming the U.S. system of health care might cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade, according to health policy experts quoted in an Associated Press story published by Yahoo! News.

Reform at any cost may be necessary. Almost all Americans fear that health care costs are a threat to their personal financial security, according to a Reuters story about a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey released Tuesday. Eighty percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed also said the nation’s health care system works poorly.

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