Access to health care “a basic human right

Signs everywhere that hospital systems, specialty medical societies, patient safety programs, health insurers, employers, labor unions and various states are already taking steps to improve the quality and lower the cost of health care. There is still plenty of room for savings in a complex system where 20 percent to 30 percent of all health spending — or more than $1 trillion a year — may be “waste” that does nothing to help patients.