After saving lives, getting the lights back on "is the most critical thing, " said Gregory Reed, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a former engineer at Consolidated Edison Inc.
The problem is twofold: One is that depending on how it's structured, if recipients are suddenly getting a plan that has their reimbursement rates going like this, but health care costs are still going up like that, then over time the way we're saving money is essentially by capping what they're getting relative to their costs.