Bernanke Says Rising Health Care Costs a Strain

WASHINGTON — Bolstering the performance of the health care system is one of the biggest challenges facing the country, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Monday.

New medical technologies and treatments are allowing people to live healthier, longer and more productive lives. However, the aging of millions of baby boomers coupled with rapidly rising heath care costs are accounting for an ever-growing share of both personal and government budgets — strains that will become increasingly burdensome unless changes are made, the Fed chief said.

Challenges, he said, fall into three major areas: improving access to health care for the 47 million Americans — or about 16 percent of the population — who lack health insurance; bolstering the quality of care; and controlling costs.

“Improving the performance of our health care system is without a doubt one of the most important challenges our nation faces,” Mr. Bernanke said in remarks on health care changes organized by a Senate panel on Capitol Hill.

On his remarks, the Fed chief did not talk about the Fed’s next move on interest rates or the state of the economy.

Many economists believe the Fed will hold a key interest rate steady at 2 percent, a four-year low, when it meets next week. Mr. Bernanke and other Fed officials have sent strong signals that the Fed’s rate-cutting campaign, started last September to shore up the ailing economy, was probably over because of mounting concerns about inflation.

Wall Street investors and some other believe that the Fed might be forced to raise rates later this year to thwart a dangerous inflation flare-up. Others, however, still think the Fed will be able to hold rate steady through the rest of this year.

It is a difficult spot for Fed policy makers. They are trying to aid an economy that has been badly bruised by the blows of a housing, credit and financial debacles. At the same time, they don’t want inflation to take off. If the Fed were to start boosting rates too soon to fend off inflation, that could deal a set back to already fragile economic growth.

On the health care front, Mr. Bernanke did not recommend specific solutions, saying the difficult choices involved with improving access and quality and controlling costs were best left to policy makers in Congress, the White House and elsewhere.

“Taking on these challenges will be daunting,” he said. Given the complexity of health care matters, he suggested that it might be better for policymakers to consider an “eclectic approach,” rather than one single set of changes to address all concerns.

“We may need to first address the problems that seem more easily managed rather than waiting for a solution that will address all problems at once,” Mr. Bernanke offered.