Physician-Owned Hospitals Under Attack Again – Needless and Dated Legislation Should Go Away

I’m just glad that physicians still have an interest in owning hospitals with the way the economy is today with 43% being in the “red” today. They also argue that better outcomes with treatments and surgery occur with hospitals owned by doctors. I think this argument is a bit dated and if a hospital is doing the job, leave them alone, as we all know there are no big huge profits being made today by most, so again, this should be considered a “dead” issue and left alone and maybe we can get out of the 70s on some of the legislation proposed with healthcare reform when it no longer is an issue. Where are the “big profits” that everyone is worried about? BD

Pete Stark has campaigned against doctor-owned hospitals over and over again. These setups, he argues, allow doctors “to participate in what would otherwise be illegal kickbacks,” by sharing in the profits of hospitals where they refer patients.

So it’s not terribly surprising that the House health-reform bill introduced earlier this week (and co-sponsored by Stark) bars physician ownership in new hospitals, and limits the growth of existing hospitals, according to this summary of the bill.

In addition, physician-owned hospitals must give a “detailed description” to the feds of the stake of each physician-owner and investor. They must also tell patients about their stake in the business.

House Health Bill Would Ban New Physician-Owned Hospitals - Health Blog - WSJ