Physicians on Capitol Hill Discuss Concerns Over Hospital Employment

By Bob Spoerl | July 20, 2012

Representatives from several physician organizations testified in front of the U.S. House Small Business Committee Thursday to discuss the trend toward physician-hospital alignment and the shrinking number of small group and solo practices nationwide, according to a Bloomberg report.

Speakers from the panel of four, which included three physicians, discussed how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with a focus on new delivery and payment models such as accountable care organizations, may continue to accelerate the trend toward physicians leaving small practices for hospital employment.

Further, Louis F. McIntrye, MD, of Westchester Orthopedic Associates and White Plains Hospital Physicians in White Plains, N.Y., discussed the potential impact the loss of independent practices may have on local economies.

"The loss of tax revenue resulting from private practice physicians migrating to hospital employment may be significant and worthy of further study," he said in his testimony.