A good article on health care cost issues from the American Prospect. It's a review of three new books on health care that are broadening the debate over health care costs outside the context of the long-term fiscal challenge. For years health care policy people have focused on insurance as a cure for all that ails the health care system, overlooking the cost-inefficiencies of the delivery system. Only recently has there been a good discussion. This discussion is now having a spill-over affect on fiscal policy, which is pretty awesome.

CBO just released an impressive document on health care costs and long-term fiscal issues. It includes:

• A more realistic projection of health care costs, absent changes in federal law
• The relative importance of an aging population, health care costs, and social security costs
• A systematic explanation of the rise in health care costs and its value
• A discussion of possible remedies to excess health care costs

An interesting article in the Times on who's advising the presidential candidates on economic policy. So far, only John Edwards has broken Washington taboos and (quietly) declared that he'd increase the deficit to pay for more social spending.

Businesses are moving on ideas to incentize better quality and cost-efficient health care. Why is it taking so long for government to do the same?