Top Dem senator, hospitals near health care deal

breitbart ^ | 7/5/09 | ap

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON (AP) - With health care legislation at a crossroads, the nation's hospitals are near agreement with a key lawmaker and the White House to pick up part of the cost of President Barack Obama's plan for expanded coverage, officials said Monday. The precise size of the deal was not available, although several days ago, talks were focused in the range of $150 billion to $155 billion over a decade. These officials said under the emerging agreement, hospitals would accept lower-than-anticipated payments under Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health care programs for seniors and the poor.

[Nachum]

Rationing Rationing Rationing

[johncocktoasten]

precisely. do you think hospitals are going to just take it in the rear on these fees? No, they are going to reduce the services provided in some way shape or form.

[kabar]

Just increase the fees on everyone else.

[blueyon]

They already get lower payments for medicare/medicaid. That’s why the rest of us pay so much more because the hospitals are in deficient from each person that goes to the ER, etc. for a cold and takes up space and the Hospital loses money from it.

[freespirited]

Baucus had better be careful ... if what is passed proves unpopular back home, he could be toast.

[freekitty]

I don’t remember giving these Congress critters permission to make deals?

[socialismisinsidious]

Socialized Medicine aka Universal Health Care PING LIST

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[HonestConservative]

Payments to hospitals will be reduced, who do we think is going to keep the difference?

[Dysart]

This administration has been stepping up pressure on every segment of the the hc industry to accept lower reimbursements across the board for some time now. Meeting with trade reps, twisting arms, laying out in ways they simply cannot refuse. But, truthfully, it began under Bush (and probably more importantly then, spurred by a Congress with the same key industry players we see now- Daschle, Hoyer, et al) The savings will be shifted, naturally, to new initiatives. Ya'll probably knew that...everybody is getting squeezed and yeah, providers will settle for less, but I'm telling you the end game we'll only see a spreading of misery more broadly. That's what most people care about, not industry particulars. The folks don't know what's coming in terms of quality of care. I get a charge out of claims of congress-stifled innovative Medicare practices I've been reading. Please, that's the forte of the free mkt- our strength- but say goodbye to it. Really, though, the Medicare prgm, and depending upon the state, Medicaid, has been a lifeline for so many. We like to attack it but we don't see too many beneficiaries demanding to pay out of pocket for thousands of dollars of medical xps. Doesn't happen. And those programs as we know it will change profoundly sooner than later. What's funny to me is that many of those affected are the very people who voted Obama into office. Hmm. Go figure. They deserve to get it good and hard, as someone very wise once said.

[OpusatFR]

I see hospitals closing.

Are the malpractice rates going to go down?

Are the supplies, medicines, equipment and salaries going to go down?

Some of the hospitals on the border with Mexico have closed or closed their ERs in some cases because they went broke.

This is the same situation in a different flavor.

[Dysart]

Are the supplies, medicines, equipment and salaries going to go down?

Yes, in an artificial marketplace you can make this happen. But quality of services and products will also decline. You'll notice it.

[Harrius Magnus]

That’s nothing new.