Just as Obamacare supporters are being forced to play defense on several fronts, members of the organization representing the nation's 235 physician-owned hospitals are going on the offensive Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Their target is Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which put severe restrictions on opening new physician-owned hospitals or expanding existing ones.
Their chief weapon is the ranking of facilities in last year's CMS hospital value-based purchasing program, in which 53 institutions with full or partial physician ownership placed in the top 100 of the list (PDF).
Leslie Fossey, a spokeswoman for the trade group Physician Hospitals of America, said their main message is that Section 6001 is restricting patient choice and access to high-quality care at a lower cost.
“The Affordable Care Act was supposed to create higher quality, patient choice and lower costs,” the PHA stated in a news release. “But the very hospitals that excel in all three areas according to government data are being squeezed out by the big hospital lobby and a law that is hopelessly flawed.”
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