Here is another good news/bad news column about the 112th Congress.

Everyone must work together to curb the costs of health care.

This book examines the health spending crisis and calls for a broad agenda of experimentation and reform to slow health-care spending growth.

Congress and the president need to reform Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because they are no longer able to run on autopilot.

The retirement of Rep. Barney Frank from the House will cause mourning among all in the Congress-watcher and Congress-lover fraternity.  Meanwhile, the super committee’s inability to reach any agreement was shrugged off by most observers as the expected outcome, and it was, but I was deeply disappointed nonetheless.

As I listened to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan describe his latest budget plan in a speech at American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday, I couldn't help thinking how different things will be in Britain today when Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne steps out of Number 11 Downing Street with a battered red briefcase holding his budget for the forthcoming year.

Joesph Antos' statement on premium support for Medicare before the House Committee on Ways and Means' Subcommittee on Health

Our research shows that competitive bidding—a key feature of the Wyden-Ryan plan—could save Medicare $339 billion over ten years while maintaining basic benefits and without raising taxes. Crucially, the elderly would not be exposed to the risk of higher health care costs, as in approaches that would set fixed voucher payments toward the purchase of medical insurance.