National CRE News In Your Inbox.
Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.
Senate Bill Aims to Lift Ban on Physician-Owned Hospitals
A new bill introduced by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) reverses a provision of Obamacare that bans the creation and expansion of physician-owned hospitals and prevents their participation in Medicare or Medicaid.
“Obamacare is not working for most Americans, costs have skyrocketed and choices have diminished,” Lankford says. “There are many smaller health care reform steps that can target specific problems within health care. The Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 will increase competition, which will lower health care costs and expand quality of care by empowering smaller physician-owned hospitals to innovate and tailor their services to the communities they serve.”
Physician-owned hospitals have a successful track record of providing individualized and innovative quality care, according to Lankford. He contends that they meet a growing demand for health care services, especially in rural areas.
CMS’s Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, which rewards hospitals for high quality of care and patient satisfaction, found that seven of the top 10 hospitals with the highest overall performance in the program were physician-owned for FY 2017. In fact, 40 of the top 100 performing hospitals in the CMS VBP program in FY 2017 were physician-owned, although they represent only 5% of participating hospitals.
The Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 (HR 1156) was introduced in the House by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) earlier this year.
For questions, comments or concerns, please contact Jennifer Duell Popovec
