Vice President Joe Biden Offers Health Care Reform Reassurance
Wednesday, July 08, 2009SUSIE GHARIB: More funding today for President Obama's ambitious healthcare reform plan. The nation's hospitals agreed to give up $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments over the next 10 years to help pay for the plan. Vice President Joe Biden announced the agreement at the White House, saying the administration's overhaul of health care is quote, on track; it is coming. The administration is pushing for a comprehensive bill to be signed in the fall. Stephanie Dhue reports.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The $155 billion the Obama administration has wrung out of hospitals sounds like a lot but that's over a decade and $45 billion less than the administration was looking for. Vice President Joe Biden says hospitals will make up for the lower payments.
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: As more people are insured, hospitals will bear less of the financial burden of caring for the uninsured and the under insured and we'll reduce payments to cover those costs, in tandem with that reduction.
DHUE: The agreement is contingent on health reform becoming law. The pharmaceutical industry has made a similar agreement and will spend $80 billion over 10 years to lower prescription drug costs. Physicians, labor unions and insurance companies are also being asked to do their share. Chip Kahn, who represents investor-owned hospitals, says today's deal puts a cap on the amount hospitals will have to give up in the debate.
CHIP KAHN, PRES., FEDERATION OF AMERICAN HOSPITALS: There are a lot of moving parts for hospitals in health reform and this gives us sort of a sense of security about the big picture that we can then work with the committees on the details.
DHUE: Health policy analyst Jon Glaudemans says the agreements buy a period of calm before the storm.
JON GLAUDEMANS, HEALTH POLICY ANALYST, AVALERE HEALTH: These deals, as they are staggered out over a period of days and weeks have the effect of dampening the public opposition that might otherwise arise from these organizations and essentially postpone that day of reckoning until we have an actual piece of legislation.
DHUE: Lawmakers are wrangling over how to pay for the health care bill. Proposals to raise revenue by limiting tax deductions for employers or increasing Medicare payroll taxes are unpopular. And reducing provider costs further will also meet resistance. Chip Kahn says hospitals are concerned a public insurance plan would cut costs simply by paying below- Medicare rates.
KAHN: Those rates are frequently insufficient and the last thing we need is to get both new people covered or people who have coverage now, have them covered by another payer who's not paying well enough.
DHUE: If health care reform were a patient, it would be in critical care today. The next month will be crucial to determine if reform has a chance of passing into law this year. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.
YASTINE: We'll talk health care reform tomorrow night with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
