Regulation unfairly hinders ability of physician-owned hospitals to compete

I’m writing to express my appreciation for the recent article “Lifting restrictions on physician-owned hospitals could be key to widening access to care” (ModernHealthcare. com, June 27). I am hopeful that your publication will increase the public’s attention to this regulatory issue. The ability to provide high-quality patient care and cost-effective interventions should be the deciding factor on whether a facility can expand its services within their local communities.

Proponents of this regulation hypothesized that physician-owners held an unfair advantage over facilities not owned by physicians since they could refer Medicare patients to their own facility. However, research findings published by Blumenthal, et al., in 2015, have demonstrated that limiting the ability of physician-owned hospitals to expand has not decreased the costs or quality of care provided to patients. In 2016, Schneider and colleagues illustrated that care provided by physician-owned hospitals saved Medicare close to $1 billion a year.

The continuation of this regulation has hindered the ability of physician-owned medical facilities to compete against other facilities. Decisions concerning who is listed as owners of the facility should be removed from the equation. The ability to expand services should be based upon the capacity to provide high-quality patient care at a competitive rate.

Michelle Crillo Oklahoma City