Getting Health Costs Right

With that information, the government is hoping to streamline the $2.2 trillion health care industry. That may mean standards for treatment — and what critics call rationing. Proponents call it rational — and the only way to really control spiraling costs.

This hour, On Point: Getting health costs right — and Obama’s first moves on health care.

You can join the conversation. What are you looking for in health care reform? What role should the government play in controlling costs? Tell us what you think.Guests:

Joining us from Piscataway, New Jersey, is Mitchell Seltzer, a longtime hospital consultant who founded the firm Seltzer Rees. He has done pioneering studies comparing health care treatment costs, with clients across the country including big academic institutions, such as Harvard, Penn, Chicago, California, and the Mayo Clinic. He has the ear of President Obama’s budget director, Peter Orzag, and the stimulus package has more than $1 billion for research to compare the cost and effectiveness of treatments around the country.

And from Danville, Pennsylvania, is Ceci Connolly, reporter for The Washington Post covering health care issues.