COST: White House Announces Deal With Hospitals to Save $155 Billion

At a press conference this morning, Vice President Joe Biden formally announced that deal you've been hearing about with the hospitals, who have agreed to forego about $155 billion in government payments over the next 10 years. That only happens if health reform happens -- but the deal itself will help health reform happen.

Biden and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were joined by representatives from the American Hospital Association, the Hospital Corporation of America, Community Health Systems, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

"The very groups we have been talking to have been the most vocal opponents of health care reform; they are now becoming the vocal proponents for health care reform," White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told the New York Times.

The Times reports that Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are cautiously optimistic about the deal. "I'm delighted to hear that people are stepping up to help reduce costs," Dodd, who has been leading the HELP committee health legislation markup in Sen. Kennedy's absence, told the Times, "but I want to know what the ask is, and the ask sometimes can exceed the value of your cost savings." (Eric Pianin and Phil Galewitz at Kaiser Health News have some more on what the hospitals may be concerned about, including federal financing of medical residency programs, charity care rules, and of course the fate of the public health insurance option.)

Tom Daschle suggests that health stakeholders realize what they stand to gain from health reform. "It's kind of a give-and-take, quid pro quo kind of environment," he told the Times. Taking an early seat at the table means "groups like the drug makers and hospitals will be owners of this process, and as owners they have to continue to defend it and support it."

With all the unoptimistic talk of bumpy roads, roadblocks, and the race against the clock, it's good to know that health care reform actually is moving ahead. No one said this was going to be easy! Remember -- we're talking about big and complicated but necessary changes to a large part of our economy. What is important about this deal? Everyone's invested in fixing the broken system, both the White House and the health industry are staying at the table, and the savings promised by this deal shows that it is possible to bend the cost curve. And in our book, that's good news.