The criticisms of physician-owned specialty hospitals are chiefly that they receive the same tax breaks and insurance payments as do traditional hospitals, but don't provide the same breadth of care (no labor and delivery, no emergency care), and that they are rife with conflicts of interest. Periodically, the federal government has imposed moratoriums on physician ownership, but even so, the number of facilities has grown. Now, a provision of the Affordable Care Act bans the construction of new physician-owned hospitals that do not receive Medicare certification before Dec. 31; existing physician-owned facilities have been prohibited from expanding since the law was enacted on March 23.
Dr. Jack Lewin, CEO of the American College of Cardiology, talks about the upcoming ban on physician-owned specialty hospitals.
DR. LEWIN is CEO of the American College of Cardiology.
The ACC supports assurances that physician self-interest is not the key factor behind a specialty hospital.
Source DR. LEWIN