White House, Hospitals Near Deal For $150 Billion In Cost Savings

New York Times:

WASHINGTON The Obama administration and major hospital associations on Monday evening were nearing a deal for about $150 billion in cost savings to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health care system, with an announcement expected at the White House as early as Wednesday, officials said.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[cjt1957]

Maybe if Obama says please, all the mean hospitals will give all the care away for free.....

[jozzie]

"Please don't legislate real law against our shafting of the American people. We'll play fair honestly! We'll do all kinds of neat money-saving tricks. Just let us. Trust us.

"Oh good! You're not going to write actual laws!! Yipee!

"Say what? Cost savings? Oh those! You see we sort of can't..."

[pastpartisan]

We are borrowing the stimulus money. More stimulus is equivlent to throwing gasoline on the fire. We can't possible pay the debt back... legitemately. The government will use inflation to cheapen the debt. Unfortuneatly, this will hurt the poor, the working class, and the elderly on fixed income. Reckless government spending is not a Liberal value. http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/link/redir.pxe?www.iamned.com

Stimulus is a joke of a concept; it doesn't end up with real economic growth in the long term. Even the New Deal failed to increase private investment. It wasn't until 1941 that domestic private investment reached 1929 levels. The fact that the first stimulus has failed to stop the bleeding yet isn't surprising. Our government deficit for the year which is over 20% of GDP (when the omnibus bill, first stimulus, bailouts, and on-budget deficit are summed) is unsustainable and something's gotta give, whether it be the lenders or the interest rates.

hat tip to http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/link/redir.pxe?www.iamned.com

[emerywood]

It is understandable why all health care industries including big pharm, hospitals and physicians
are eager to include all the presently uninsured into a program administered by the government.
They would even make concessions and co-operations to make that happen.
It is like an additional MediCaid to them which means more income from the 45 million insured users.
In fact, they are willing to make concessions to make this happen as long as the system itself remains the same wasteful and unaccountable model. But, don' t call that health
care reform because it isn't. It is no more than an additional government program provided by
tax dollars. What we need is less costly but more effective medical
care, not just more of the same. What we need is to eliminate wastes and make the system
more efficient. So far, we have not heard from the industry nor the government in that regard.

[rxvette]

I work in a hospital and we lose millions of dollars a year already on indigent care. We are not for profit and depend on the other hospitals in our group to bail us out each year. I think universal care would make a huge positive difference for us as we would actually get reimbursed for all the care that goes unpaid for now. Here's my keys to reforming the current healthcare system - http://bit.ly/9QLV8

[NotBrainwashedByMedia]

Rahm and Obama... More of the Same... Not Hope & Change.

Notice I left out Biden as he is worthless, except for a good gafe!

[mitsie]

what we really need is to go back to the days of non profit hospitals instead of for profit. The hospitals will make sure they are making profits so the CEO's can be well paid. Even then, these hospitals and providers have to stop the double billing and medicare , medicaid fraud, that is costing us millions.

[uvymopka]

Obama: "Well, we're outta money now."

Not that that will stop him. I just want you to keep that in mind as Obama ratchets up this talk of perhaps a second stimulus package.

[uvymopka]

Remember they used to dump all over H.R. Haldeman as a "strongman" for Nixon doing this kind of stuff. What's missing here is courage and guts. These hospital people and the doctors and the CEOs, they need to challenge Obama. They need to challenge him, confront him, fight him, and expose him. These people can help beat Obama and his health care agenda. He's not invincible. But if you let a bully keep doing what he does, he's going to keep doing what he does. Otherwise you confront him and you take him down. And Obama is really using the power of the federal government much as a schoolyard bully terrorizes the playground.

[Periwinkle]

I had a dream last night . . . this is true. I finally caved to the severe pain in my hip and went to the emergency room. Everyone stared at me as if I was a leper. When I got to the examining room I thought again about how much it was going to cost since I don't have insurance and I apologized for the inconvenience and hobbled away. As one of millions who don't find this exercise a cute, political game, I'm getting tired of of idle promises. Obama and the Democrats need to pass real reform with a public option (at the very least) and let the chips fall. It's the moral and humane thing to do.

[mitsie]

I agree. I have read and watched with horror, cancer patients without coversage having hospitals close their cancer clinics, or refusing to care for them. IMO the hospitals should be mandadted, if they care for medicare or medicaid, they have to care for these patients.

[1differentdrummer]

You can stay for less in a first class hotel than in a mediocre hospital. I'm not sure your chances of survival may not be better in the hotel. Now, a first class hospital, that's a different story.

[mitsie]

My husband was in one of the second class hospitals for 38 hours for a GI virus. His bill, billed to medicare was over $25000. Included in the billing, were errors including duplicate billing of expensive tests, and double billing. What we really need is good people reviewing all these medical bills, and returning these to the providers if their are errors. Certainly insurance companies do this and I realize that's problematic. However, we are paying millions to these places, and they are taking advantage by doing these practices.

[Indedave]

Wake me up when the only goal of the "healthcare industry" is to heal patients, not to enrich shareholders.

[schatsie]

You know the FRENCH had to AMPUTATE the top 1% to get their rights.

[loki]

all these wonderful deals, Insurance companies say they will lower prices saving us trillions over 1o years. Trick is they raised prices 3 times more than they discounted them. Hospitals are going to save us 150 billion.. How much will that cost us, a mere trillion?
The real problem is that you can not trust a corporation to keep their word, especially insurance companies, but no company will. How many times in the past have we been told of companies who promised to keep jobs here, and then moved overseas as soon as they get their 20 year tax break. Companies promises are worthless, even more so than a politicians promise, and we are quickly seeing just how worthless those are. Nope , this is a big facade to make us feel good now, but are really meaningless

[GeoLee]

The ultimate bait and switch.

[PhilipTaylor]

MORE BS!

Show us on paper! Final Signed Version! All the Details!

[Samalabear]

Agree. That silly meeting with pharma and the insurance companies was a joke earlier in this. I'm glad they're nervous, but even if they signed something it would make no difference. We would still be screwed. The only way to bring these entities to heel is with single payer and a private option.

[schatsie]

Bingo, the Health Industry is a DRUG ADDICT and it is not about to give up one dime of COKE (I mean money)... They have sucked out 10 trillion dollars (of excess profits) in the last 10 years.... Really think about it 2-3 grand every year for every man woman and child....

[AlsoSarah]

E-mail the White House. Tell them what you want.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/