Senator Lankford Reintroduces Bill to Remove Obamacare Ban on Physician-Owned Hospitals to Provide Greater Access to Patients

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today reintroduced the Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act, which removes the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) ban on the creation and expansion of new physician-owned hospitals (POHs) and allows POHs to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. Lifting this ban will increase competition among hospitals, lower costs, and expand access to quality care for more Americans, especially those with Medicare and Medicaid. 

“Obamacare unfairly prohibited the creation and expansion of physician-owned hospitals, depriving Americans of another health care delivery option,” said Lankford. “The Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act would remove the ACA’s ban on POHs and allow them to compete with non-profit, community, and for-profit hospitals to provide innovative services tailored to patient needs. Rather than a blanket prohibition on the creation and expansion of POHs, we can and should increase hospital innovation, help reduce costs, and ensure access to quality health care.

“We can protect multi-discipline hospitals and allow patients to choose specialty hospitals if they so choose. While we work to find common ground on other major changes needed for health care delivery in our nation, there are a number of harmful aspects of the ACA we can address immediately, and I look forward to this bill’s consideration and passage so we can finally address this discrepancy.”

POHs represent less than five percent of the 5,700 hospitals nationwide. However, POHs have a successful track record of providing individualized and innovative quality care, and they meet a growing demand for health care services. Seventy-five percent of all POHs have earned three or more stars in CMS’ Hospital Stars Program; 40 percent of them have earned five stars.

###