SPOTLIGHT: Senate Finance Committee plan could help hospitals

A plan to trim Medicaid and Medicare spending proposed by the Senate Finance Committee last week could help hospital companies significantly, some are arguing. The proposal, crafted by Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), would give hospitals some relief from specialty competition and also defer the planned 4.3 percent cut in physician Medicare reimbursement rates planned for 2006. The plan asks for $5.8 billion in cuts to Medicare and a $4.3 billion decrease in Medicaid spending. Hospital industry sources are indicating they can live with the deal. Article