We, the XX undersigned organizations that represent physicians and patients, support the Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act, H.R. 9001. The bill would create critical physician hospital ownership exemptions for communities that face the greatest demand for additional hospital services.
H.R. 9001 would allow physician ownership in rural hospitals for hospitals that are more than a 35- mile drive from a main patient campus of the hospital or critical access hospital. (Or, in the case of mountainous terrain or in areas with only secondary roads available, a 15-mile drive.)
In addition, the legislation would allow grandfathered physician-led hospitals, which have been handcuffed since the 2010 adoption of the Affordable Care Act, to meet their community needs and expand.
Rural hospitals provide essential healthcare services to millions of Americans, but they continue to face immense financial pressures and workforce shortages that threaten their viability. On average, rural hospitals operate on very thin margins, and over 130 rural hospitals have closed since 2010.
Rural communities deserve every tool possible to save hospitals that are on the cusp of closure. Unfortunately, the law prevents physicians from owning hospitals, which limits one of the most logical class of potential owners, physicians, from saving a rural hospital. Lifting the physician ownership ban would give underserved rural areas a potential tool to provide hospital services in the form of a physician-led hospital.
Physician-led hospitals have been shown to provide high-quality care at lower costs compared to other hospitals. Studies have found that they deliver savings to Medicare, feature lower prices for procedures and are more efficient. Consolidation of rural hospitals into larger health systems reduces services and responsiveness to community needs. More competition from physician-led hospitals offers a solution to combat consolidation and address access challenges so that patients have additional choices for timely, affordable and high-quality care.
We urge you to support this critical legislation, which would give an additional lifeline to rural communities.
Sincerely,
Alabama Medical Association
Alabama Orthopaedic Society
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Orthopaedic Executives
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American College of Cardiology
American College of Surgeons
American Gastroenterological Association
American Medical Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons
American Society for Surgery of the Hand Professional Organization
American Urological Association
Arizona Medical Association
Arkansas Medical Society
Arthroscopy Association of North America
California Medical Association
California Orthopaedic Association
Colorado Orthopaedic Society
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Connecticut Orthopaedic Society
Connecticut State Medical Society
Georgia Orthopaedic Society
Hawaii Medical Association
Idaho Medical Association
Illinois Association of Orthopedic Surgeons
Illinois State Medical Society
Indiana State Medical Association
Iowa Medical Society
Iowa Orthopaedic Society
Kansas Medical Society
Kentucky Medical Association
Louisiana Orthopaedic Association
Louisiana State Medical Society
Maine Medical Association
Maryland Orthopaedic Association
Massachusetts Medical Society
Massachusetts Orthopaedic Association
MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society
Medical Group Management Association
Medical Society of Delaware
Medical Society of New Jersey
Medical Society of the District of Columbia
Michigan Orthopaedic Society
Michigan State Medical Society
Minnesota Orthopaedic Society
Mississippi State Medical Association
Missouri State Medical Association
Missouri State Orthopaedic Association
Montana Medical Association
Nebraska Medical Association
New Jersey Orthopaedic Society
New Mexico Medical Society
North Carolina Medical Society
North Carolina Orthopaedic Association
North Dakota Medical Association
North Dakota Orthopaedic Society
Ohio State Medical Association
Oklahoma State Medical Association
Oregon Medical Association
OrthoForum
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society
Physician Advocacy Institute
Physician-Led Healthcare for America
South Carolina Medical Association
South Dakota State Medical Association
South Dakota State Orthopaedic Society
Tennessee Medical Association
Tennessee Orthopaedic Society
Texas Association of Neurological Surgeons
Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
Texas Medical Association
Texas Orthopaedic Association
Utah Medical Association
Vermont Medical Society
Virginia Orthopaedic Society
Washington State Medical Association
West Virginia Orthopaedic Society
Wisconsin Medical Society
Wisconsin Orthopaedic Society
View a PDF version of this testimony here.
