Physician Organizations Challenge Constitutionality of the Health Reform Law

Today, the Texas Spine & Joint Hospital and Physicians Hospitals of America jointly filed suit in U.S. Federal Court, Eastern District of Texas, challenging the constitutionality of Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.

Section 6001 prohibits physician-owned Medicare hospitals from expanding after March 23, 2010, and bans any new physician-owned Medicare hospitals that are not certified as Medicare providers prior to December 31, 2010. Due to Section 6001’s limited application (i.e., it applies only to hospitals owned by physicians), the Texas Spine & Joint Hospital and Physicians Hospitals of America allege that the section is exclusionary and unconstitutional.

Accompanying the lawsuit is a motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow Texas Spine & Joint Hospital to proceed with its plan to expand its facility.

For more information, please contact Robert S. Iwrey, Esq. at (248) 996-8510.