31.   Her marrow was a perfect match for Tsongas, the hospital has said.

32.   Her marrow was a perfect match for Tsongas, the hospital said.

33.   Hospitals nationwide say they are being forced to lay off staff and close services, such as home health visits, because of the budget cuts.

34.   Hospitals say HMOs often refuse to pay for their members in such cases, even if HMO doctors sent the patients to the hospital emergency rooms.

35.   Hospitals say that clinics offer more cost-effective care than they can provide.

36.   Hospitals say that in the past, Empire and other carriers routinely accepted a co-signature alone as sufficient.

37.   Hospitals say they cannot absorb such cutbacks when their costs are rising rapidly.

38.   Hospitals say they need the money to cover rising labor costs.

39.   Hospitals said the guides might have accounted for some, but not all, of the improvements.

40.   Hospitals say the federal and state payments are already too low to cover Medicare and Medicaid costs.