[Oct 13, 2005]

      Health care costs continue to increase, and without reform, the "number of uninsured and underinsured will grow, as more employers scale back benefits or quit extending coverage to workers altogether," Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, writes in a Seattle Times opinion piece. Davis writes that employers and others must begin to examine the supply side rather than the demand side of the health care market to reduce costs. She recommends 10 proposals "that show promise":

• Reduce high-cost hospitalizations, such as those for readmitted heart failure patients;
  
  
• Reduce payment disparities for patients with similar conditions;
  
  
• Reduce use of unnecessary medical tests and procedures;
  
  
• Eliminate of payments to hospitals for complications related to medical errors;
  
  
• Negotiate of reduced prescription drug prices;
  
  
• Standardize of health insurance products to reduce administrative costs;
  
  
• Increase use of evidence-based medical guidelines for tests and procedures;
  
  
• Guarantee patient access to a regular health care provider to direct and supervise their care;
  
  
• Eliminate of duplication of medical tests and procedures; and
  
  
• Implement of health information technology.

Davis writes, "It is time to devote the necessary resources to study and test out the utility of these 'supplyside' approaches." She concludes, "None will be painless to implement but these are real-world examples that could not only save money but also save lives" (Davis, Seattle Times, 10/13).