A few weeks ago, David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrestled with the problem of health care spending. In his column today, he inches closer to the question he’s dying to ask: how can we reduce health care spending without increasing costs? (Here I see the fingerprints of Cato’s Arnold Kling, whom Leonhardt cites, as well as GMU’s Tyler Cowen.)

Readers of Cato@Liberty know I’m skeptical of a solution that Leonhardt offers: having the Medicare bureaucracy pay more for what it considers “quality” medical care. It’s not that I think “pay-for-performance” is a bad idea — I think it’s a good idea that Medicare will undoubtedly ruin.

At a Cato policy forum on November 2, I will be joined by Harvard’s David Cutler, National Medical Association president Sandra Gadson, and former Medicare administrator Gail Wilensky to discuss whether that’s so.