Scheduling
Time & Attendance
Forecasting
Employee App
Payroll Integrations
Communications
Benefits
By Staff Report
Jul. 9, 2009
The nation’s hospitals agreed Wednesday, July 8, to give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments during the next 10 years, with those savings being used to help fund coverage for the uninsured as part of health care reform legislation.
The announcement of the agreement between the White House and the hospital industry came at a White House ceremony, with the deal announced by Vice President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama is traveling in Europe.
Biden, with officials from several big hospital trade associations at his side, was upbeat about the prospects of reform legislation being enacted this year.
“Reform is coming. It is on track. … We have never been as close as we are today, and things remain on track,” he said.
Still, the original timetable for consideration of health care reform hasn’t been met. For example, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, earlier said his committee would start to consider a bill in mid-June, but a bill has yet to be produced.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, though, has been considering a draft proposal during the past few weeks. It isn’t known when that panel, which shares jurisdiction on health care legislation with the Finance Committee, will vote on a final bill.
In the House, the chairmen of three committees with jurisdiction on the issue unveiled a draft bill, but committee action on that proposal hasn’t begun yet. The HELP Committee and House chairmen’s bills, among other things, would require all but small employers to offer coverage meeting certain standards or be slapped with financial penalties.
Few details about the agreement between the White House and the hospital industry were released at the White House ceremony. The hospital industry, though, could stand to be a big winner if Congress approves a key element of health care reform legislation, moving the country closer to universal coverage.
More than 46 million Americans lack health insurance. If a big dent is made in that number, hospitals would see a significant reduction in the amount of uncompensated care they provide.
Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
Workforce Management’s online news feed is now available via Twitter
Come see what we’re building in the world of predictive employee scheduling, superior labor insights and next-gen employee apps. We’re on a mission to automate workforce management for hourly employees and bring productivity, optimization and engagement to the frontline.
Benefits
What is Earned Wage Access (EWA)? A Few ConsiderationsSummary Earned wage access (EWA) programs are an increasingly popular way for employees to access their...
benefits, earned wage access products, payroll, time and attendance
Benefits
EEOC says that employers legally can offer incentives to employees to get vaccinated in almost all instancesIf you’re an employer looking to get as many of your employees vaccinated as possible, you can rest eas...
ADA, CDC, COVID-19, EEOC, GINA, pandemic, vaccinated
Benefits
Fixing some common misconceptions about HIPAAEver since the CDC amended its COVID-19 guidance to say that the fully vaccinated no longer need to wea...
COVID-19, health care, HIPAA, human resources, wellness