Can bundled payments help slash health costs?

USA Today, October 26, 2009

Combined, "bundled" payments are getting close attention during the healthcare debate as a way to encourage hospitals and doctors to work together to hold down costs and improve care. Bundling payments moves medical charges away from the traditional fee-for-service system that pays providers separately for individual services. Critics of the current healthcare system say the arrangement leads to doctors and hospitals delivering more care, but not better care.