Physician Hospitals of America: Oxford Outcomes Study Finds Physician Owned Hospitals Add Balance, Relief in Medically Underserved Areas
Conclusion: A provision of the Affordable Care Act which blocks growth of physician owned hospitals will increase strain on healthcare facilities in parts of the country that exhibit strong growth and below average patient capacity
Washington, D.C. (Sept. 21, 2011)— According to a study released by Oxford Outcomes, an independent healthcare consulting firm, Americans insured through Medicare or Medicaid may soon be faced with increasing troubles receiving timely quality care at healthcare facilities, especially in rural and medically underserved parts of the country.
The study assessed the effects of Section 6001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that blocks new construction or expansion of physician owned hospitals in the following eight states: CA, MI, NE, OH, PA, UT, WA, & WV. The study compares hospital access in counties with one or more physician owned hospitals; of the 46 counties with physician-owned hospitals (POHs), 26 counties (56%) have hospital bed capacity below the national average. In many cases that shortfall for patients is large.
“American citizens on Medicare and Medicaid are in dire need of quality healthcare access, which is what physician owned hospitals are helping provide in low capacity and high growth communities,” said Dr. Michael Russell, President of Physician Hospitals of America (PHA). “Blocking physician owned hospital growth is detrimental to the very healthcare system, and most importantly, the people, that the Affordable Care Act is designed to help. What this means for the patient is an increased wait time for appointments, bed shortages and a higher patient to doctor ratio--in short, a serious decrease in the quality of medical care.”
Physician owned hospitals often purposefully locate in areas of the country where more beds capacity is needed to reduce stress on large community hospitals. Many times community hospitals reach capacity and must divert patients to larger, further away cities. The Oxford Outcomes results were congruent with this trend, finding that counties with hospital bed capacities far below the state and national average often are home to at least one physician owned hospital.
“ACA will add millions more people to the US health care system at a time when there are already serious concerns about whether existing hospital capacity is sufficient to handle population growth, the aging population, and immigration,” said John E. Schneider, PhD who is Senior Director of Health Economics for Oxford Outcomes. “The reductions forced by Section 6001 will increase strain on healthcare facilities in such parts of the country that exhibit strong growth and a below average patient capacity.”
To date, section 6001 has forced at least 30 new hospital projects to be abandoned and halted expansion projects for approximately 47 existing hospitals. “These are just the projects we have been able to identify,” adds Russell. “These facilities could have provided care for 300,000 patients. With 30 million additional patients entering the insurance rolls, this country needs more high-performing hospitals – not fewer.”
To review the entire study, contact PHA.
Michelle McRae
CCO Healthcare Partners
312.961.4745
mrm@ccopartners.com
About Physician Hospitals of America
PHA offers support, advocacy and educational services to the physician owned hospital industry, reflecting at all times the best interests of patients, physicians and other providers who play an inextricable and essential role in the provision of healthcare services. There are currently 275 physician owned hospitals serving patients in 33 states. These hospitals include general acute care, long term acute care, emergency medicine, multi-specialty, women’s, children’s, rehabilitation and psychiatric. According to its HCAHPS survey data, physician owned hospitals rank first for patient satisfaction in 20 states. For more information visit: www.phapulse.org.
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