Baucus touts HIT as key to healthcare reform

Sen Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and responsible for leading healthcare reform efforts, said Monday that health IT will be key in containing costs to pay for reform. Sen Baucus said Congress wants to reduce costs internally through delivery system reform, and he highlighted health IT and comparative effectiveness as prime examples. He emphasized savings would come over the long haul, up to 12 years, after initial investments in health IT.