To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal the Obamacare ban on provider-owned hospitals, and for other purposes.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Spartz introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill repeals restrictions from the Affordable Care Act that currently prevent physician-owned hospitals from expanding or being newly built. Specifically, it removes requirements in Section 1877 of the Social Security Act (the "Stark Law") that were added in 2010 to limit the growth of hospitals where doctors have ownership stakes.
Who Benefits and How
Physicians and physician groups benefit by regaining the ability to own and invest in hospitals, particularly specialty facilities focused on orthopedic surgery, cardiac care, or surgical procedures. Healthcare real estate developers and investors gain new opportunities to build physician-owned hospitals. These groups would no longer face the regulatory barriers that have prevented new physician-owned hospitals from being established since 2010, and existing physician-owned hospitals could expand their facilities and services.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Traditional community hospitals face increased competition from physician-owned specialty hospitals, which can selectively focus on profitable procedures while community hospitals must provide comprehensive emergency and charity care. The Medicare program bears potential cost increases, as physician self-referral can drive up healthcare spending when doctors send patients to facilities they own. Federal administrators at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must rewrite regulations and guidance to implement these changes.
Key Provisions
- Strikes subsection (i) from Section 1877 of the Social Security Act, removing the ACA-era ban on new physician-owned hospitals and expansion of existing ones
- Removes requirements in subsection (d)(2)(C) that rural provider-owned hospitals must meet to qualify for exceptions to ownership prohibitions
- Eliminates requirements in subsection (d)(3)(D) that hospitals must satisfy to qualify for ownership exception rules
- Effectively returns physician hospital ownership rules to their pre-2010 status, before the Affordable Care Act tightened restrictions on self-referral
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Repeals restrictions on physician-owned hospitals by removing requirements for rural provider exceptions and striking the entire subsection (i) of Section 1877 of the Social Security Act (Stark Law).
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Roll back Affordable Care Act restrictions on physician-owned hospitals to allow expansion and new establishment of such facilities"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Physician groups wanting to own hospitals
- Specialty hospitals (orthopedic, cardiac, surgical centers)
- Medical practice investors
- Healthcare real estate developers
Likely Burden Bearers
- Traditional community hospitals (face increased competition)
- CMS administrators (must reinterpret rules)
- Medicare program (potential for increased costs due to self-referral)
- Patients in underserved areas (if profitable cases shift to physician-owned facilities)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "centers_for_medicare_medicaid_services"
- → CMS - agency administering Medicare/Medicaid
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Commonly known as the Stark Law, which prohibits physician self-referral for designated health services payable by Medicare or Medicaid
Restrictions on physician-owned hospitals enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, limiting their ability to expand or be newly established
Provisions related to rural provider exceptions to ownership or investment prohibitions
Provisions related to hospital exceptions to ownership or investment prohibitions
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology