MA hospitals may lose $322m

Massachusetts teaching hospitals would lose $322 million, or about two-thirds of the federal dollars they receive for the training of medical residents, under a bipartisan proposal to tamp down the rising costs of Medicare and reduce the federal deficit. The proposal, a slice of at least $1.6 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade being considered as negotiators try to forge a broad agreement to raise the nation's debt limit, could be a body-blow to the region's health care industry, a key part of the overall economy, analysts said. It also promises to intensify the debate over the role of hospitals and the best way to deliver high-quality services to patients in a cost-effective manner.