Monday 13 July 2009

USA - Hospitals to Contribute US$155 billion to Healthcare Reform

Three major hospital associations have agreed to contribute US$155 billion over ten years to the healthcare reform, it was announced on 8th July 2009.

Vice President Joe Biden did not provide specific details, but said the savings would come from delivery system reforms and trimming the annual inflationary adjustments to hospital reimbursement payments from two government health programmes.

It is expected that around US$100 billion will come from lower Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals, while a further US$40 billion will be saved by reducing the subsidies paid to hospitals to care for the uninsured.

The three hospital associations participating in the deal are the American Hospital Association, the Hospital Corporation of America and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

The deal is similar to the agreement made with the pharmaceutical industry in June 2009, under which drug companies agreed to contribute US$80 billion over ten years towards the costs of the healthcare reform. However, both deals are contingent on the healthcare reform legislation being passed.

Further reading - An in-depth review of the US pharmaceutical market, including some background information on the healthcare system, is available from Espicom: The Pharmaceutical Market: USA (published March 2009)

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