In recent weeks, the Obama administration has struck a number of deals with several health care industry stake holders, and they may be on the brink of another breakthrough.

The hospital industry is close to a deal with the White House and congressional Democrats in which the industry would agree to federal funding cuts of $150 billion to $170 billion over the next decade to help pay for a health system overhaul, according to people familiar with the talks.

The deal, which isn't final, could be announced within days. A critical feature is an agreement on phasing in the Medicare and Medicaid cuts.

That's inside scuttlebutt from Kaiser Health News. The details--where the cuts will come from, and what concessions they've been promised--still seem murky, and will be crucial. Hospitals are a powerful interest group, and haven't always been friendly negotiators. Earlier this year, the American Hospital Association distanced itself from a pledged it had signed on to with several other stakeholders to reduce health care costs by $2 trillion over 10 years.