Physician Hospitals of America, joined by Texas Spine & Joint Hospital (TSJH) in Tyler, filed a lawsuit in early June challenging the health reform law's ban on new physician-owned hospitals. Accompanying that lawsuit is a motion for a preliminary injunction against the law's ban on expansions of existing physician-owned hospitals. The motion seeks to allow TSJH to proceed with plans to add 20 Medicare beds to its facility.
Mike Russell, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon and physician-owner of TSJH, ranked the top hospital in Texas for spine surgery by HealthGrades, discusses the lawsuits and why the ban and restrictions are bad for patients.
Q: Why did you jointly file this lawsuit with PHA?
Dr. Mike Russell: We believe that as a physician-owned hospital we have been singled out unfairly and the ban would limit access to quality care for our patients. We feel strongly that our patients deserve the highest quality of care they can receive; that's what our job is and what should be the basis for healthcare reform. We hope this lawsuit will allow us to expand and provide greater care to our community.
Q: You planned to add 20 Medicare beds to the facility but the health reform law will not allow that. How committed were you to this expansion before the law was passed?
MR: TSJH opened in 2002 and we have known for the last 2-3 years that we needed to expand to handle growing patient demand. We have spent over $2 million in property acquisitions and about $400,000 in legal, professional and architectural fees. We worked through a lengthy zoning process with the city and received approval for our expansion plans. TSJH was in the final stages for the expansion when the law was passed.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with these lawsuits?
MR: The ultimate goal for TSJH to receive full grandfathering so we can proceed with the expansion and also to lift the ban on new innovative physician-owned hospitals that provide quality care to patients. This will encourage competition with existing hospitals, which greatly benefits communities.
Q: Why do you think physician-owned hospitals are critical for the future of healthcare?
MR: We built TSJH because we believed that we could provide lower cost and higher quality care to our patients, specifically those covered by Medicare.
In the end, it comes down to three things: First and foremost, it's all about our patients and the high quality of care we provide them. Two, competition drives quality. Three, we must give our patients a choice to search for the best care. Patients want to be able to choose their own care. In Tyler, we've had incredibly good care because of the competition between ourselves and the local hospitals. We believe TSJH's push for higher quality of care has had a positive effect on the entire East Texas community; we do not want to see that compromised.
Learn more about Texas Spine & Joint Hospital.
Mike Russell, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon and physician-owner of TSJH, ranked the top hospital in Texas for spine surgery by HealthGrades, discusses the lawsuits and why the ban and restrictions are bad for patients.
Q: Why did you jointly file this lawsuit with PHA?
Dr. Mike Russell: We believe that as a physician-owned hospital we have been singled out unfairly and the ban would limit access to quality care for our patients. We feel strongly that our patients deserve the highest quality of care they can receive; that's what our job is and what should be the basis for healthcare reform. We hope this lawsuit will allow us to expand and provide greater care to our community.
Q: You planned to add 20 Medicare beds to the facility but the health reform law will not allow that. How committed were you to this expansion before the law was passed?
MR: TSJH opened in 2002 and we have known for the last 2-3 years that we needed to expand to handle growing patient demand. We have spent over $2 million in property acquisitions and about $400,000 in legal, professional and architectural fees. We worked through a lengthy zoning process with the city and received approval for our expansion plans. TSJH was in the final stages for the expansion when the law was passed.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with these lawsuits?
MR: The ultimate goal for TSJH to receive full grandfathering so we can proceed with the expansion and also to lift the ban on new innovative physician-owned hospitals that provide quality care to patients. This will encourage competition with existing hospitals, which greatly benefits communities.
Q: Why do you think physician-owned hospitals are critical for the future of healthcare?
MR: We built TSJH because we believed that we could provide lower cost and higher quality care to our patients, specifically those covered by Medicare.
In the end, it comes down to three things: First and foremost, it's all about our patients and the high quality of care we provide them. Two, competition drives quality. Three, we must give our patients a choice to search for the best care. Patients want to be able to choose their own care. In Tyler, we've had incredibly good care because of the competition between ourselves and the local hospitals. We believe TSJH's push for higher quality of care has had a positive effect on the entire East Texas community; we do not want to see that compromised.
Learn more about Texas Spine & Joint Hospital.