The American Medical Association, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association and American College of Cardiology Joined the Coalition Calling for an End to the Ban on Physician-Led Hospitals
Washington – A coalition of 85 national and state medical societies urged Congress in a July 27, 2023, letter to lift the arbitrary and anti-competitive restriction on physician-led hospitals that feature physician ownership. The American Medical Association, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association and American College of Cardiology were among the national medical societies that joined the coalition, which featured a resounding message to remove the restrictions.
The letter represents the largest number of medical societies to date to sign the coalition letter, which urges Congress to pass the “Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care.” H.R. 977/S. 470 is led by Congressman Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX), Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK).
PHA’s president, Frederic Liss, MD, offered the following response:
Physicians are exasperated with being relegated to a second-class role in managing and delivering the highest quality healthcare to their patients because leaders in Congress continue to accept the misinformation promulgated by powerful Washington lobbyists representing massive corporate self-interests. The 2010 ban on the physician ownership of hospitals was an anti-competitive and negotiated exchange by corporate hospital lobbyists as a mechanism to prevent competition from physicians. These attacks on physicians’ autonomy have continued over the past 13 years, through public policy and industry initiatives, that have resulted in purchase of nearly 70 percent of physician practices in the United States. This consolidation in the healthcare marketplace has resulted in an unhealthy and costly vertical integration of hospitals through the up charging for physician services to Medicare and Medicaid programs for the healthcare provided to the American public.
We physicians are resilient, and are now more passionate than ever, on behalf of our patients across the US, to restore a reasonable semblance of control of healthcare back into the hands of physicians, as we vociferously underscore in this July 27, 2023, coalition letter. We urgently and respectfully call on Congress to allow for healthy competition through the passage of H.R. 977/S. 470, the “Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care.”
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) featured a provision that prevented grandfathered hospitals from expanding beyond March 23, 2010. In addition, the ACA’s provision prohibited Medicare services for new hospitals with physician ownership that opened after 2010.
Click here to view the coalition letter.
Physician-Led Healthcare for America (PHA) promotes, educates, and advocates for exceptional patient-centered care through physician leadership. Founded in 2001, PHA advocates for the interests of physician-owned hospitals, physician-led facilities, physician-led practices and other physician-led initiatives at the federal, state and local levels. The organization also supports its members in their efforts to advance the quality and availability of healthcare in their specific communities.