WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Physician Hospitals of America, an advocacy group dedicated to providing support and educational services to the physician owned hospital (POH) industry, recently surveyed POHs regarding the impact Section 6001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has on the economy and the delivery of high-quality healthcare.
Section 6001 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits the construction or expansion of POHs. The purpose of the survey was to determine to what extent the economy, job market and quality of healthcare would improve if Section 6001 was repealed. Approximately 25 percent of all POHs responded to the survey which found:
- 55% would expand immediately to meet community demand
- 35% would expand within the next 5 years
- $450 million would be spent on construction
- 1,575 FTE (full time equivalent) highly-skilled healthcare jobs would be created (not including construction jobs)
These numbers are especially strong when extrapolated over all the estimated 265 POHs in the U.S.:
$1.8 billion would be spent on construction projects
6,300 healthcare full time jobs would be created
"The importance of saving POHs cannot be explained by numbers alone," said PHA president Michael Russell, M.D. "But they play an important role in illustrating the enormous, positive effects that expansion of the POH industry could have on the economy and job market on a local level."
Media Contact:
Michelle McRae
CCO Healthcare Partners
312.961.4745
mrm@ccopartners.com
About Physician Hospitals of America
PHA offers support, advocacy and educational services to the physician owned hospital industry, reflecting at all times the best interests of patients, physicians and other providers who play an inextricable and essential role in the provision of healthcare services. There are currently 275 physician owned hospitals serving patients in 33 states. These hospitals include general acute care, long term acute care, emergency medicine, multi-specialty, women's, children's, rehabilitation and psychiatric. According to its HCAHPS survey data, physician owned hospitals rank first for patient satisfaction in 20 states. For more information visit: www.phapulse.org.
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