Panel Says U.S. Should Weigh Cost in Deciding ‘Essential Health Benefits’
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: October 6, 2011

WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences said Thursday that the federal government should explicitly consider cost as a factor in deciding what health benefits must be provided by insurance plans under President Obama’s health care overhaul, and it said the cost of any new benefits should be “offset by savingsâ€