Amitabh Chandra Rebuts Critics of the Dartmouth Atlas

Writing at the Health Affairs blog, my colleague Amitabh Chandra answers the criticisms of using the Dartmouth Atlas studies of health care spending variation as a basis for policy reform (see this post from last week and a related post from earlier this week).  He is particularly concerned about some spotty reasoning that appeared in this Wall Street Journal editorial.  He ends with five recommendations for what to do politically based on the evidence on regional variation in health care spending:

1. Do not cut reimbursements.
2. Focus on cost growth.
3. Be realistic about the gains from bundled payments.
4. Think accountable organizations
5. Worry about spillovers.

Read the whole thing.