Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital in Hammond, La., is scheduled to open before the ban on physician-owned hospitals goes into effect on Jan. 1, but it may still fail to comply with another stipulation of the healthcare reform law, according to a report by Kaiser Health News.
Physicians have been working with GE on the project, and this summer the physicians bought it from the company. Although the group had been involved in the project for five years, the reform law bars physicians from investing in new hospitals after March 23.
Cypress Pointe CEO James Aldridge said the physicians are simply trying "to continue the hospital project they had been working on for years." In August, the AMA asked CMS to set aside the March 23 deadline so that physician-investors who had intended to invest in hospitals could still participate in projects under development.
Strengthened GOP lawmakers might be friendlier
Randy Fenninger, a lobbyist for Physician Hospitals of America, said a Republican-dominated House taking control after the election might be friendlier to physician-owned hospitals. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, recently said physician-owned hospitals "should be allowed to grow."
Mr. Fenninger added some physician-owned projects may form public companies, which physicians may still own shares in while others will sell to non-physicians.
Status of other projects
Here are updates on other physician-owned hospital projects.
— In Irvine, Calif., Hoag Hospital is partnering with physicians for a 70-bed orthopedic hospital that should be able to get Medicare certification in time.
— Construction workers have been working 21 hours a day so that Orthopaedic & Spine Specialists in York, Pa., can open this month.
— Methodist Hospital for Surgery, a joint venture in Addison, Texas, between Methodist Hospital and a group of physicians, has accelerated its construction schedule and now plans to open in November.
— In Murrieta, Calif., a 106-bed hospital joint venture between 70 physicians and Loma Linda University Medical Center won't open until March 2011, but planners hope Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will secure an exception.
Read the Kaiser Health News report on physician-owned hospitals.
Read more coverage of physician-owned hospitals.
- Reform Law Stopped Construction on 27 Physician-Owned Hospitals
- Physician-Owned Hospital in South Dakota Sees Ban as Recruiting Tool
- New Physician-Owned Nebraska Hospital to Open
Physicians have been working with GE on the project, and this summer the physicians bought it from the company. Although the group had been involved in the project for five years, the reform law bars physicians from investing in new hospitals after March 23.
Cypress Pointe CEO James Aldridge said the physicians are simply trying "to continue the hospital project they had been working on for years." In August, the AMA asked CMS to set aside the March 23 deadline so that physician-investors who had intended to invest in hospitals could still participate in projects under development.
Strengthened GOP lawmakers might be friendlier
Randy Fenninger, a lobbyist for Physician Hospitals of America, said a Republican-dominated House taking control after the election might be friendlier to physician-owned hospitals. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, recently said physician-owned hospitals "should be allowed to grow."
Mr. Fenninger added some physician-owned projects may form public companies, which physicians may still own shares in while others will sell to non-physicians.
Status of other projects
Here are updates on other physician-owned hospital projects.
— In Irvine, Calif., Hoag Hospital is partnering with physicians for a 70-bed orthopedic hospital that should be able to get Medicare certification in time.
— Construction workers have been working 21 hours a day so that Orthopaedic & Spine Specialists in York, Pa., can open this month.
— Methodist Hospital for Surgery, a joint venture in Addison, Texas, between Methodist Hospital and a group of physicians, has accelerated its construction schedule and now plans to open in November.
— In Murrieta, Calif., a 106-bed hospital joint venture between 70 physicians and Loma Linda University Medical Center won't open until March 2011, but planners hope Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will secure an exception.
Read the Kaiser Health News report on physician-owned hospitals.
Read more coverage of physician-owned hospitals.
- Reform Law Stopped Construction on 27 Physician-Owned Hospitals
- Physician-Owned Hospital in South Dakota Sees Ban as Recruiting Tool
- New Physician-Owned Nebraska Hospital to Open