In the news: Physician Hospitals of America speaks out against reform proposal

The healthcare reform bill passed by the U.S. House and a bill under consideration in the Senate will stifle growth for physician-owned hospitals, according to a recent Physician Hospitals of America press release. Under these bills, a physician-owned hospital would only be permitted to grow it if meets the following stringent criteria. Under these criteria, the hospital must:

• Be located in a county where the population increased during the most recent five-year period at a rate that is at least 150% of the state’s population increase
• Have a Medicaid inpatient admission percentage equal to or greater than average percentage for all hospitals located in the county
• Be located in a state with a state average bed capacity less than the national average
• Have an average bed occupancy rate that is greater than the state average bed occupancy rate
• Have the most Medicaid admissions for the previous three cost reporting
  periods

“This provision would destroy over 200 of America’s best and safest hospitals, resulting in the loss of thousands of healthcare jobs and more economic hardship in communities across America that are already suffering the effects of the recession,” said Molly Sandvig, executive director of Physician Hospitals of America (PHA) in the press release.

If both bills pass as is, more than 70,000 jobs, which translates to a payroll of $2.4 billion, will be in jeopardy, states the press release.