Health care cost analysis gains ground

Congress expected to launch research

But IMRT - the newer treatment - costs about four times as much as the older approach: $42,450 compared with $10,900.

A opportunity to save health-care dollars? Yes, the panel concluded: Using the far more expensive regimen was a "low value" choice.

But some critics say long-term effectiveness is not the only consideration. Treating prostate cancer with radiation can damage healthy tissue near the tumor. That sometimes inflames the digestive tract and can cause pain and diarrhea. The side effects usually clear up in weeks or months, but they are distressing while they last.

The research showed that these complications occurred much less often when the IMRT procedure was used, because it can target the tumor more precisely. Republican health-care expert Wilensky has proposed the creation of a federal agency with a budget of as much as $5 billion a year to fund effectiveness research.

Viewed in the context of the $2 trillion Americans spend on health care, Wilensky said it would be a prudent investment.

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar writes for the Los Angeles Times.