support of the American Medical Association, among other national
physician organizations, it currently awaits a hearing before a House
committee and an uncertain future. Leadership changes in the House,
however, have found one of the bill's supporters, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-
Texas, like the bill's author, Rep. Sam Johnson), assuming the chair-
manship of the House Ways and Means Committee, which claims
jurisdiction over the legislation.
If recent trends continue, physician-owned hospitals' efficient per-
formance and satisfied patients may be the key to convincing lawmak-
ers that passing the PACE Act could help to deliver high quality health
care while keeping costs under control.
OSM
Mr. Williams (jwilliams@hallrender.com) is an attorney at Hall Render
Killian Heath & Lyman's Washington, D.C., office, where his practice areas
include federal legislative and regulatory advocacy, government relations and
health policy. Andrea L. Impicciche, Alyssa C. James and Maryn T. Johnson
from the firm's Indianapolis office contributed to this article.
Legal Update
LU
3 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6
The Affordable Care Act amended the Stark Law to prohibit physician-owned hospitals from
expanding their aggregate number of operating rooms, procedure rooms and licensed beds beyond
the number for which they had been licensed on March 23, 2010, the day the ACA was signed into
law.
The Department of Health and Human Services, however, has the authority to grant exceptions
to this restriction. Hospitals in which physicians hold ownership in the entire facility, rural hospi-
tals serving specified patient needs and facilities serving a high volume of Medicaid beneficiaries
may qualify for expansion. To date, only 3 hospitals — 2 in Texas and 1 in Indiana — have satisfied
the criteria necessary to receive an expansion exception. Hospitals requesting an exception may
submit an exception request electronically to poh-exceptionrequests@cms.hhs.gov.
— John F. Williams III, JD
EASING RESTRICTIONS
Do You Qualify for an Expansion Exception?
