Posted 11:03 pm Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Health Care Ruling May Affect Tyler Hospital's Case
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer
An attorney representing a Tyler physician-owned hospital in a federal lawsuit is hopeful Monday's ruling from a Florida U.S. district judge would mean Texas Spine and Joint Hospital could move forward with plans to expand.
U.S. Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Fla., declared all parts of President Barack Obama administration's health care law unconstitutional, siding with 26 states that sued to block it, including Texas.
"The Florida federal court has declared the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional in its entirety," Scott Oostdyk, the Virginia attorney for Texas Spine and Joint Hospital, said on Monday. Obama signed the legislation into law in March.
"Section 6001 of that law bars expansion by only one type of hospital -- those that are physician-owned. We are hopeful that the Florida decision will stop the enforcement by the federal government of all unconstitutional limitations on hospital expansion, and Physician's Hospital Association will seek that relief in the courts," Oostdyk said.
Oostdyk said the Physician's Hospital Association and its attorneys will continue to analyze the ruling "and our various options for moving forward."
Vinson agreed with the states involved in the suit that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties, according to The Associated Press.
He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.
At issue is the ability of the Texas Spine and Joint Hospital in Tyler to continue with its expansion plans as a physician-owned hospital that accepts Medicare patients. Section 6001 of the national health care legislation prohibits physician-owned Medicare hospitals from expanding as of March 23.
Dr. Mike Russell, Physician Hospitals of America president and Spine and Joint Hospital partner said in June that Section 6001 "prevents us from meeting our patients' needs and from proceeding with our expansion needs."
In September, Russell said the hospital has spent several years and $2 million to $3 million pursuing the expansion, and since March 23, has been unable to proceed with those plans.
The $37 million expansion, which has won zone approval for an additional 20 Medicare beds, would add three operating rooms, three procedure rooms and 20 additional patient rooms. The expansion also would add and renovate parking to create a total of 359 spaces.
