Hospitals Near Health Care Reform Pact

By David Espo

WASHINGTON -- With health care legislation at a crossroads, the nation's hospitals are near agreement with a key lawmaker and the White House to pick up part of the cost of President Barack Obama's plan for expanded coverage, officials said.

The precise size of any deal wasn't available, although several days ago talks were focused in the area of $155 billion over a decade. These officials said Monday that under the emerging agreement hospitals would accept lower-than-anticipated payments under Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health care programs for seniors and the poor.

Any agreement involving Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and the White House would give fresh momentum to efforts to write bipartisan legislation on an issue that Obama has placed atop his list of domestic priorities. ...