BREAKING: Nation's Hospitals Agree to Forgo $155B in Revenue!
Sorry for the breaking non-diary, but I thought this was important to get out there. WAPO is reporting this developing story:
Nation's Hospitals Agree to Forgo $155B in Revenue
The nation's hospitals have agreed to give up $155 billion in expected revenue over the next 10 years, money that will bring the White House closer to its goal of paying for broader health coverage, an industry source said tonight. The agreement is between the White House, the Senate Finance Committee and the three major hospital groups: the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and the Catholic Health Association. The hospital groups have agreed to reductions in Medicare payments, and the money they receive for providing uncompensated care will start being reduced. An announcement laying out the agreement is expected Wednesday morning.
UPDATE:
News is still coming in on this, but that's 155B from the nation's hospitals and 80B from Big Pharma. They have ponied up 235B dollars to help pay for health care, and at some point you would think the Republicans are going to start to get the night sweats.....NAAAAH....of course they won't. Maybe we will even be lucky enough to get Smokin' John Boehner to call health care for all Americans bullshit!
Anyway, say what you will about Max Baucus, but he has been getting concessions from the providers. Now we need the PUBLIC OPTION. Call your senator tomorrow folks! We can afford the Bush tax cuts. We can afford a useless war in Iraq. We can afford healthcare for all Americans.
UPDATE (2):
Politico now reporting Biden will make the announcement that three hospital associations have agreed to provide 160B dollars in savings to help pay for health care overhaul.
Look, I know these health care groups are doing a little CYA to get the best possible deal for them but this is more than we have ever gotten in the past. Plus, it puts the screws to the Congress and Senate to get something done.
Update (3):
Full story from the WAPO here.