As he swore in board members who will oversee the Health Policy Commission, the new agency charged with holding down health care spending in the state, Governor Deval Patrick on Friday noted the gargantuan task they faced.

“This is a big challenge, a complicated challenge,” he told the 11 members, who have varied backgrounds in health care, including some who have tried for decades to identify ways to slow rising costs. “It is one to which history has called all of you.”