AHA, FHA blog says physician-owned hospitals are bad for patients and communities 

Physician-owned hospitals are “not good for patients, communities, the integrity of the Medicare program, or providers who are actually in the business of caring for all patients, 24/7, regardless of their ability to pay or their medical condition,” the AHA and Federation of American Hospitals wrote today in a blog post.  
 
The blog highlights new data from the health care consulting firm Dobson | Davanzo reaffirming that POHs cherry-pick patients by avoiding the less profitable Medicaid and uninsured patients; treat fewer medically complex patients; and provide fewer emergency services and often rely on publicly funded 911 services and acute care, community hospitals for these services for their own patients. 
  
In addition, the blog highlights how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently reinforced the need for the ban on new POHs and restrictions on the growth of existing facilities. In this month’s inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule, CMS proposed to reinstate program integrity restrictions for POHs approved as “high Medicaid facilities” due to the risk for patients and the Medicare program.