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Show I i im.tt: : , ..... n Plclnne f BY RICK KINNERSLEY What Happened to Hospital Cost Containment Throughout most of the previous year talk of mandatory controls on hospital costs were the subject of debate and conjecture both at home and in Congress. This much debated bill was presented for House approval November 15th and failed passage miserably, 234 to 166. What happened to hospital cost containment? It started much before the debate. Indications are it will last far beyond the issue of hospital cost containment. The cause for the defeat reaches into every legitimate business and will continue con-tinue to grow until the problem is corrected. cor-rected. It is a rebellion against government govern-ment over-regulation. As the Chairman Chair-man of the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently said, "For the first time in our recent history there is a consensus that we have delegated to government more power than is wise, to do things for which it is ill suited." There's no question that hospital costs are high and reducing them has become a popular issue for almost every politician. President Carter all bat placed his Presidential career on the line for this bill. His loyalists blamed the loss on heavy lobbying by medical and hospital associations like the Utah Hospital Association. Inside rw-ilit.iVnl nrnlvaf.s ntrrpp hnwpvpr t.hqt the House vote against hospital coat containment reflects much more. They describe it as a deep revulsion against any idea that smacks of government intervention. This bill was a prime example ex-ample of price controls which the Carter Aclministration promised it would never defend or support. As the Tampa Tribune said in a November 24th editorial, "From a practical standpoint, it is impossible to impose cost controls on one segment seg-ment of the economy, especially one involving such a variety of skills and technology as hospitals hospitals, which have made progress in a voluntary volun-tary reduction of the rise in costs. Today, To-day, in fact, hospital costs are actually running below the consumer price index in-dex of inflation. The U.S. House did not run from the issue, however. It passed a bill to create a Presidential commission to monitor hospital cost-cutting efforts to report to Congress in one-year. This compromise must be approved by the Senate before it will be implemented. In the meantime, hospitals will be well . advised to do everything they can to hold costs down. A bad report card next year could bring the President's bill back with a vengence. ana WmUt Column JSl the Utah Hospital Association. Inside bill back with a vengence. oaa political analysts agree, however, that VftUj Cohxmn Bl ( 1 " I UTAH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION ElS |