Health groups detail plans to reduce costs

Healthcare providers plan to help cut up to $1.7 trillion of costs over the next decade by improving care for chronic diseases, streamlining administrative tasks, and reducing unnecessary care, major industry groups announced. Their proposals offer the first detailed glimpse into how hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, medical-device makers, and a big labor union aim to make good on the cost-cutting promise they made to President Barack Obama. Under the groups' proposals, certain types of care could see cutbacks, potentially sparking concerns among consumers.