Final report issued on specialty hospitals
Moratorium lifted, disclosure required
In a final report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on specialty hospitals, the agency said it will fine these facilities $10,000 per day if they fail to report their financial structure to the federal government. It also will require specialty hospitals to disclose their financial relationships with physicians to patients and to treat all emergency patients regardless of their ability to pay.
The report coincides with the end of an 18-month moratorium on new specialty hospitals.
In a prepared statement, Thomas Nickels, senior vice president of the American Hospital Association (AHA), said, "Given the growing evidence that financial interest may be overtaking patient interest, the AHA continues to believe physician self-referral to limited-service hospitals they own should be banned." Patients should not have to question whether their physician is acting in the interest of patient care or in the physician's best financial interest, Nickels said. "We stand ready to work with Congress to address the very serious issues self-referral raises for patients and health care," he said.
The response from representatives of the specialty hospital industry to the final report is positive. "I think all members are fine with disclosing our ownership relations," says James Grant, president of the American Surgical Hospital Association in Sioux Falls, SD, and executive vice president of National Surgical Hospitals in Chicago. "They're proud to tell patients and others that they have ownership in these facilities so they can ensure the best quality care is delivered," Grant says. "In fact, many of our member facilities already are doing that."
Treating emergency patients is a condition of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, he says. "Our hospitals have always been complaint," Grant says. "It's a condition of Medicare."
He says specialty hospitals are not doing any harm to general hospitals. "This is an issue of general hospitals complaining about the competition," Grant adds. "We're glad that, hopefully this is end of process and we can get on with our mission to serve our patients as effectively as we possibly can."
In a final report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on specialty hospitals, the agency said it will fine these facilities $10,000 per day if they fail to report their financial structure to the federal government. It also will require specialty hospitals to disclose their financial relationships with physicians to patients and to treat all emergency patients regardless of their ability to pay.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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