Bundling services could be key to cutting healthcare costs

As Washington policymakers focus on ways to squeeze unnecessary costs out of America's healthcare system, much of the talks are about fundamental changes in the way providers are paid. Under the proposed system, care would be bundled, so providers get paid for treating an illness in an integrated system of care. Such bundled services are often easiest to handle in an integrated delivery system where doctors work for the organization that includes a continuum of care from primary care clinics to full-service hospitals.