Insights
Client Alert
The Latest Attempt To Restrict Physician Ownership In Hospitals
March 18, 2008
James F. Owens and Paul A. Gomez
In our client alert issued last August, we addressed a Congressional effort, in the form of H.R. 3162 (the SCHIP Bill), to eliminate the whole hospital exception to the Stark Law so that physicians could not refer patients to hospitals in which they had ownership. That legislation applied to all hospitals, not just so-called specialty hospitals. SCHIP Bill-related legislation subsequently became effective, minus the physician ownership prohibitions. Proponents of the measure to restrict physician ownership were expected to continue to pursue similar legislative efforts.