Lawmakers will consider a one-year moratorium on licensing a physician-owned hospital planned for Casper when they meet in January to debate two other bills sparked by the controversial venture.
The moratorium is designed to give lawmakers time to first assess the Affordable Care Act’s effect in Wyoming. Without the wait, it would be difficult to determine whether any changes are the result of the federal health care reform law or the new hospital, said Rep. Elaine Harvey, the Republican lawmaker from Lovell who proposed the delay.
The new hospital would be primarily owned by a group of 24 local doctors. Kansas-based health care developer Nueterra would own a smaller stake in the project.
State business filings indicate Nueterra might be interested in other communities in Wyoming, though company officials have declined to discuss their plans with reporters. It’s unclear whether the moratorium, if lawmakers enact it, would apply to those possible ventures as well.
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Federal regulations bar new doctor-owned hospitals such as Summit from accepting Medicare and Medicaid, which provide government coverage to the old, poor and medically needy. Critics say that gives Summit an unfair advantage, while increasing the burden on community hospitals that treat anyone who comes through their doors.
In response, Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, authored two bills designed to level the competitive playing field. One would require all hospitals to take Medicaid and Medicare patients in order to maintain a state license. A second would essentially tax hospitals that don’t accept patients with
government health coverage while giving the proceeds to those that do.
The committee won’t vote on either bill until it meets in January. Some members argue the legislation would harm free enterprise. But others contend allowing too many hospital beds in a community would actually lead to over use and higher costs.
Would-be competitor Wyoming Medical Center claims Summit would peel away lucrative customers, potentially leading to cuts in emergency care. A Nueterra lobbyist, though, said allowing the new hospital without enacting the legislation would improve health care in Wyoming.
“Wyoming patients deserve a choice in their health care, and our Wyoming physicians deserve a choice in the delivery system in which they practice,” Marian Schulz told the committee.
Schulz’s comments did not address the moratorium.
Date: November 05, 2013