When the fox guards the chicken....

One of the main issues during the recent Presidential elections, and a key problem facing the country, is health care, or lack thereof. By some estimates, nearly fifty million people in the USA are without reasonable (or sometimes any) health insurance.
Obama, who had signaled that he would push for change on this issue, is now backtracking and kissing up to the elements that have driven up the costs of health care.
According to the NYT, "Doctors, hospitals, drug makers and insurance companies will join President Obama on Monday in announcing their commitment to a sharp reduction in the growth of national health spending, White House officials said Sunday. The officials said the plan could save $2,500 a year for a family of four in the fifth year and a total of $2 trillion for the nation over 10 years. That could make it less expensive for Congress to enact comprehensive health insurance coverage, a daunting challenge facing the Obama administration. At this point, administration officials said, they do not have a way to enforce the commitment, other than by publicizing the performance of health care providers to hold them accountable. By offering to hold down costs voluntarily, providers said, they hope to stave off new government price constraints that might be imposed by Congress or a National Health Board of the kind favored by many Democrats. In a letter addressed to Mr. Obama, six leaders of the health care industry say: “We will do our part to achieve your administration’s goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual health care spending growth rate, saving $2 trillion or more. This represents more than a 20 percent reduction in the projected rate of growth.” The letter was signed by executives of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, a lobby for medical device manufacturers; the American Hospital Association; the American Medical Association; America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for insurers; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; and the Service Employees International Union."

These organizations have vehemently opposed any type of restraints in the past, and continue to lobby effectively to kill any legislation that would impose regulations on their practices.