Pete Stark has campaigned against doctor-owned hospitals over and over again. These setups, he argues, allow doctors “to participate in what would otherwise be illegal kickbacks,” by sharing in the profits of hospitals where they refer patients. So it’s not terribly surprising that the House health-reform bill introduced earlier this week (and co-sponsored by Stark) bars physician ownership in new hospitals, and limits the growth of existing hospitals, according to this summary of the bill. In addition, physician-owned hospitals must give a “detailed description” to the feds of the stake of each physician-owner and investor.

They must also tell patients about their stake in the business. CMS will publish the information online. Docs who fail to meet the disclosure requirements would face stiff fines. Of course, language like this has been included in bills before , only to be stripped out before the bill becomes a law. The trade group Physician Hospitals of America has fought this sort legislation, and has argued that physician-owned hospitals provide better outcomes without higher costs , compared to traditional hospitals.

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House Health Bill Would Ban New Physician-Owned Hospitals