Physician Hospitals of America and the Texas Spine & Joint Hospital today filed a federal lawsuit against "exclusionary and unconstitutional" new restrictions on physician-owned hospitals included in the healthcare reform law signed by President Obama earlier this year.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow the Tyler, Texas-based hospital to proceed with plans to add 20 Medicare beds. Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act prohibits existing physician-owned hospitals from expanding after March 23, 2010. It also prohibits any new physician-owned hospitals from achieving Medicare certification after Dec. 31, 2010.

"PHA and TSJH believe Section 6001 is exclusionary and unconstitutional, eliminates competition for non-physician owned hospitals, and will ultimately have a negative impact on patient choice and medical care affordability," the organizations explain in a press release announcing the lawsuit, which they filed today in U.S. Federal Court, Eastern District of Texas. "Section 6001 is retroactive, arbitrary, vague, contradictory, and fails to provide due process and equal protection," the plaintiffs argue.

According to PHA, 45 physician-owned hospitals currently under development are not expected to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for Medicare certification, and another 39 have already halted their development in response to the new law. "It is truly illogical and unfortunate that at a time the government is supposedly attempting to increase access to care, it has chosen to stop the growth of many of the best hospitals in the country," says PHA Executive Director Molly Sandvig.

Irene Tsikitas

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