Will Health Pledge With Signatures Stick?

UPDATE 4:53 pm: Sen. Charles Grassley is already squinting at the fine print:

"I'm skeptical that these proposals will add up to anywhere near $2 trillion. In the legislative process, proposals rise or fall based on what CBO says about them, and the same will be true here."

Today's 28-page letter from the health care industry and labor's top brass confirms that the health care industry and labor groups really, really want to be at the table when Congress takes up a health care overhaul.

They've pledged to "do their part" to create health savings, and offer some concrete suggestions for where to look for these savings.

Some highlights from the letter, thanks to WSJ Health Blog:

AHIP, the health insurance trade group, calls for standardizing and automating a bunch of basic insurance functions, including "claims submissions, eligibility, claims status, payment, and remittance."

The AMA points to measures it is working on that could control overuse of certain medical procedures, including surgery for back pain, diagnostic imaging and stenting for stable coronary disease.

SEIU, a union that includes many health-care workers, argues for shifting funding to allow more patients to be cared for at home rather than in nursing homes.

While none of these suggestions are shocking or particularly new, having something in writing might make it easier for Congress to pin the interest groups down and hold them at their word.