"It depends what you mean by cost containment. If you are talking about attempts at reform of the overall healthcare system, not just government system but the overall healthcare system I think that's true," said Josh Gordon, policy coordinator at the Concord Coalition, a non-partisan federal budget analysis organization. "Congress has never done anything to try and restrain the growth of healthcare costs. We've never tried to change the healthcare delivery system from fee for service -- the Congress has never considered that."

"If you're looking at cost containment as being lowering healthcare inflation through delivery system reform, this bill reforms that more than any other bill prior," Gordon added. "Though relatively few bills ever make it onto the floor of the Senate, so this jumps to the top of the pack just for that procedural reason"...