Physician-owned hospitals: Endangered species?
American Medical News, June 28, 2010
By: Chris Silva
To the physician owners of Texas Spine & Joint Hospital, the health reform debate was a demonstration of how quickly an entire industry's fortunes can change.
Business was so brisk in recent years that executives at the wholly physician-owned orthopedic care facility planned an ambitious expansion project. They drew up plans for three new operating rooms, three new procedure rooms and 20 new beds. The $37 million project would have added 50,000 square feet and created about 540 new jobs in the eastern Texas community surrounding Tyler, where the hospital is based. But all of that is over. A provision in the health reform law enacted in March placed major limits on physician ownership of hospitals.