Biden: Hospitals Back Health Care Reform

Hospital associations will be aiding the White House’s health reform effort by providing $155 billion in medicare and medicaid savings over the next ten years, announced Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday.

“All of these savings are based on policies the administration proposed in its budget to fund health care reform,” said Biden, adding that the announcement represented President Barack Obama’s goal to achieve deficit neutral reform.

The Vice President, who appeared with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for the announcement, stressed health reform’s urgency, stating that a plan needs to be in place by the end of August.

“We have tried for decades to fix a broken system. We have never, in my entire public tenure in public life, been this close,” said Biden.

The hospital associations will achieve the promised savings by reforming their delivery systems and reducing inflationary updates.