WASHINGTON, March 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Physician Hospitals of America (PHA) and its members are working with congressional supporters to ensure passage of new legislation that would repeal the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that prohibit further construction or expansion of physician owned hospitals (POHs).
H.R. 1159, introduced with bi-partisan support by Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and H.R. 1186, introduced by Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), would both effectively repeal Section 6001 of PPACA and allow physician owned hospitals to thrive throughout the country.
The current law prohibits future physician investment in hospitals, caps existing physician investments, and restricts existing POHs from expanding to meet the needs of their communities. This reduction in access to quality care comes just as the US is bringing over 30 million new patients into the public system.
"Much needed expansion projects were halted at over 30 existing hospitals and more than 40 hospitals are in a state of uncertainty because they were not certified by Medicare in time to meet the December 31 deadline," says PHA president Dr. Michael Russell. "Passage of this legislation would undo the harm to communities imposed by the current law, help improve access to quality health care services, preserve the right of patients to choose where they receive their health care, and protect much needed jobs during our down economy."
PHA is urging everyone to take action now by contacting their member of Congress and asking them to support H.R. 1159 and H.R. 1186.
There are currently 275 POHs in 33 states. These hospitals include general acute care, long term acute care, emergency medicine, multispecialty, women's, children's, rehabilitation and psychiatric. According to the government's HCAHPS survey data, physician owned hospitals rank first for quality in 19 states.
For more information visit: www.phapulse.org
Contact:
Scott Christiansen
(312) 961-4745 / scott@physicianhospitals.org
Keri Talcott
(605) 275-5350 / keri@physicianhospitals.org
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