Uninsured will cause strain for health-care providers

Cost-containment pressure will continue to be a driving force in the medical industry in the new year, hospital-industry officials say.

“Health care is going to continue to be challenged from a whole lot of different perspectives,” Colorado Hospital Association president Larry Wall predicted. “It’s a very tumultuous time for health care.”

On the federal level, two related issues will affect health-care delivery, Wall said. First, Congress has given itself only five years to balance the federal budget. Health care being the largest portion of the budget, it will naturally come in for significant cuts.

Second, concern about the solvency of the Medicare Trust…