Sen. Feinstein Aims To Exempt Hospital From Reform Law Provision
On Sunday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) pledged to pursue a waiver that would exempt Loma Linda University Medical Center from a provision in the federal health reform law that bans new physician-owned hospitals from participating in Medicare, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Feinstein spoke at the construction site of LLUMC in Murrieta. The nearly completed $211 million hospital is a joint venture of Loma Linda and Physicians Group of Murrieta.
Reform Law Provision
According to the reform law provision, doctor-owned hospitals that have not received Medicare certification by Dec. 31 will be prohibited from participating in the program.
Some critics have said that doctor-owned hospitals create improper incentives because they enable physicians to refer more lucrative patients to their hospitals.
Feinstein's Stance
However, Feinstein said the health reform law did not intend to prevent full-service hospitals like LLUMC from opening. She said the provision targeted smaller, specialized hospitals.
Feinstein said she would seek a meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) about securing a federal waiver for LLUMC.
Regardless of whether LLUMC obtains the waiver, the facility is expected to open as scheduled in March.
However, if LLUMC does not receive a waiver, Loma Linda would need to take over Physicians Group of Murrieta's 45% ownership stake.
Loma Linda officials said taking over the ownership share would require significant funds and could lead to possible budget cuts (Hill, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 11/7). Â
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