Exploring the Adverse Impact of Federal Healthcare Reform on Physician-Owned Hospitals

Posted by Jason Greis on April 1, 2010 under Articles | Read the First Comment

After almost a year of heated debate, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (P.L. 111-148) (“PPACA” or the “Act”) on March 23, 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) (“HCEAA”) on March 30, 2010.  While many of these laws’ provisions are benign, some contain “bombshells” that will permanently alter the business and regulatory landscape for certain businesses.  One such provision is contained in Section 6001 of PPACA, which significantly curbs physician ownership and investment in hospitals by restricting application of the Federal Ethics in Patient Referrals Act’s (the “Stark Law”) statutory “whole-hospital exception.” Read More...