Hospitals took significant dings from Congress' budget deficit negotiations in the New Year's Day deal to avert the fiscal cliff. However, for a second time, the hospital lobby came through to protect its interests from much-expected cuts to outpatient payments, graduate medical education and "bad debt" payments, according to a report by Politico.
The big three items would pay hospitals the same rate for outpatient care as it pays physicians' clinics, limit subsidies for medical education and help stymie hospitals' uncompensated care. They've continued to be attractive items for many lawmakers to shrink the deficit, but legislation passed by the House last week didn't contain language spelling out those cuts.
That's attributable to aggressive lobbying from hospital groups such as the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to Politico's report.
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The big three items would pay hospitals the same rate for outpatient care as it pays physicians' clinics, limit subsidies for medical education and help stymie hospitals' uncompensated care. They've continued to be attractive items for many lawmakers to shrink the deficit, but legislation passed by the House last week didn't contain language spelling out those cuts.
That's attributable to aggressive lobbying from hospital groups such as the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to Politico's report.
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