WASHINGTON, March 23, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the one year anniversary of President Obama's Healthcare Law, Investor's Business Daily listed the language of Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as 1 of the 12 worst features of ObamaCare.
Investor's Business Daily noted: "A major source of innovation in health care, physician-owned specialty hospitals had long been a target of the Big Hospital Lobby — the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals — which doesn't like competition. ObamaCare effectively prevents new physician-owned specialty hospitals from opening and makes it near impossible for existing ones to expand."
Section 6001 prohibits new construction or expansion of physician owned hospitals which restricts patient choice and limits access to quality care. Much needed expansion projects are 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 31st deadline, says PHA.
These facilities could currently be providing 30,000 new jobs and $200 million in tax revenue for their communities. They could also provide care for approximately 300,000 additional patients. With 30 million new patients entering the public system, this country desperately needs more choice and more access - not less, says PHA.
"The IBD article nicely articulates what Physician Hospital of America (PHA) has been saying for the past year. President Obama's healthcare law is anti-patient, anti-choice, and anti-free market," said PHA president Dr. Michael Russell. "With the support of our allies in this Congress, we are confident Section 6001 will soon be reversed."
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
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