Physician-owned Hospitals

In their infinite lack of wisdom, health care policy experts some years ago persuaded federal and state legislatures to limit physician ownership of hospitals, supposedly because it was a conflict of interest that would raise prices and lead to unnecessary hospitalizations.  In reality it was because of intense lobbying from other hospital systems, all of which systematically rape and pillage the health care system with excessive prices and management compensation.  A new piece of research completely debunks this garbage theory.  Comparing cash and negotiated prices with health plans, the authors discovered that the physician-owned hospitals actually were cheaper for almost all of the eight “shoppable” common hospital health services.  The price difference ranged from single digits to over 30%.  And the physician-owned hospitals were more likely to be for-profit institutions.  Shocking, just shocking, and I am sure the competitors to these institutions will immediately stop opposing physician ownership and will lower their own prices.  (JAMA Article)