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PHA defends industry following patient death

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, February 20, 2007

Physician Hospitals of America (PHA), formerly the American Surgical Hospital Association, issued a press release and response letter defending physician-owned hospitals against criticism lobbied at the facilities following the January death of a patient at a physician-owned hospital in Texas.

The source of the criticism was a letter from two senators (Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)) and one representative (Pete Stark (D-California)) sent to the administer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services which "asked officials to account for any Medicare dollars that may have gone to a physician-owned specialty hospital in West Texas during a congressionally imposed 18-month moratorium on Medicare payments to these hospitals," according to the PHA press release referencing the letter.

Responding to the letter's request, Molly Gutierrez, executive director for PHA, said, ".the death of a patient is by no means an indication that physician-owned hospitals should be 'shut down', as Representative Stark suggests. Each day thousands of patients are treated at physician-owned hospitals with very positive results. Time and again studies have shown that physician owned hospitals provide a high level of quality care and measurably lower complication and mortality rates," according to the press release.

The response letter defending physician-owned hospitals was written by R. Blake Curd, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and PHA board member.

You can find a copy of the press release, response letter, the letter to CMS, and other recent news coverage of physician-owned hospitals by clicking here.

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