Bipartisan bill would allow radiologists and other physicians to own certain hospitals

Members of the U.S. House have introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow radiologists and other physicians to own certain hospitals. 

The Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act, introduced March 18 by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., now has 16 co-sponsors. House Resolution 2191 would allow doc ownership of rural hospitals that are more than a 35-mile drive from a main campus or critical access hospital (or 15 miles in the case of mountainous terrain). 

Proponents believe the law change is needed, with almost 750 rural hospitals are at risk of closure due to financial strain, leaving millions of Americans without access to imaging and other vital services. 

“For many rural communities, the EMS provider is the only source of healthcare remaining in the community due to hospital and physician clinic closures,” Joseph Alhadeff, MD, president of Physician-Led Healthcare for America, a doc lobbying group, said in a statement. “It’s time to give these communities a powerful solution to restore access to hospitals: physician-led facilities. At the heart of healthcare lies the partnership between patients and physicians, and rural areas deserve timely access to care through this vital collaboration.” 

Nearly 90 medical organizations voiced their support for a previous version of the bill in 2024. Societies signing the letter last year included the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, American College of Cardiology, American College of Surgeons and others representing urologists, orthopedists and otolaryngologists, but no radiology groups. 

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons also touted the bill’s reintroduction earlier this month. It believes removing the ban on physician ownership of hospitals would ensure millions of rural Americans would have access to healthcare, limit consolidation, address concern about “monopolies that could drive up costs,” and “create more opportunities to rescue rural hospitals on the cusp of closure.” 

"When physicians lead hospitals, patients win," Adam Bruggeman, MD, chair of the AAOS Advocacy Council, said in a statement. "Physician-led hospitals are a powerful solution to the consolidation plaguing our healthcare system. By lifting outdated restrictions on physician ownership, we can drive down costs, improve quality, and expand access to care, especially in underserved rural areas." 

According to the AMA, the number of physician-led hospitals grew from around 70 in the early 2000s up to 250 in 2010. This was driven by demand for acute care in some markets and the “benefits of facility specialization in enhancing clinical operations and surgical procedures,” AAOS noted. However, that growth “came to a halt” in 2010 following the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This included a provision to ban the expansion of existing physician-led hospitals, which H.R. 2191 also would lift. 

The American Hospital Association on March 27 voiced its opposition to the legislation, contending the proposal will lead to “unfettered expansion of POHs nationwide.” 

“By performing the highest-paying procedures for the best-insured patients, physician-owners inflate healthcare costs and drain essential resources from community hospitals, which depend on a balance of services and patients to provide indispensable treatment, such as behavioral health and trauma care,” the AHA wrote in comments to Rep. Griffith, the bill’s author, on March 25. “By increasing the presence of these self-referral arrangements, H.R. 2191 would only further destabilize community care.” 

Reps. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, John Joyce, R-Pa., and Lou Correa, D-Calif., also are co-sponsoring the bill. The proposal comes after industry advocates recently discussed concerns about rural hospital closures and their impact on imaging access at the Radiology Business Management Association annual meeting.