Physician-owned hospitals expand in N. Texas

Physician-owned hospitals, which are prohibited from accepting Medicare and Medicaid patients, are nonetheless expanding in North Texas by catering to and cashing in on a narrow patient market. Victory Healthcare and Forest Park Medical Center are two examples of physician-owned hospitals which treat patients solely through private insurers.

Victory, based in The Woodlands, operates specialized surgical centers that average around 25 beds per facility. Victory, founded in 2010, ventured into Dallas-Fort Worth in 2011 with locations in Hurst and Plano, and plans to open more centers. Each facility is up to 40% physician-owned and employs about 150 staff members. Forest Park Medical Center, entirely owned by physicians, has grown from one hospital in Dallas to two more in Frisco and Southlake since 2011. Those three facilities employ a total of about 1,000 people. Centers in Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin are under development.