Bill Adds Oversight for Physician Owned Hospitals

The U.S. House passed legislation that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both in a bill that also includes a provision that would place additional requirements on physician-owned hospitals. This week, House members voted 268 to 148 to pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. The bill contains a provision on physician ownership of hospitals and calls for hospitals to submit an annual report containing a detailed description of each physician and all other owners and their ownership interest. It also states that physician owners in the aggregate must not own more than 40% of the total value of investment interest in the assets of the hospital or in an entity whose assets include the hospital. In addition, in the event that a hospital admits a patient and does not have a physician available, it must disclose that information to the patients. The legislation would also limit expansion in these facilities because the HHS Secretary must not permit an increase in the number of operating rooms and beds of a hospital to the extent that it would result in the number of operating rooms and beds exceeding 150% of the baseline number of operating rooms and beds.