Though the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) agrees that the state’s 30-year-old hospital regulations are in need of significant updates, it opposes legislative language that would give oversight authority to a national accrediting organization in lieu of the state Department of Health.
House Bill 1570, introduced by Rep. Douglas Reichley (R-Berks, Lehigh), would essentially make existing state Department of Health (DOH) regulations meaningless by exempting any hospital that is accredited by a national accrediting organization approved by Medicare (such as the Joint Commission) or that participates in Medicare.
“We believe that this ‘deemed license’ of hospitals, while appearing benign, is a slippery slope that is fraught with potential problems,” said Marilyn Heine, MD, president of PAMED, in her testimony to the House of Representatives Health Committee on Oct. 20, 2011. PAMED believes that the legislature should not cede control over the licensure of its hospitals to a private entity located outside the commonwealth.
PAMED is also concerned that, depending on interpretation, this measure could potentially lead to the regulation of private physician offices by DOH by setting up a situation where a physician’s private office is regulated by two separate entities.
PAMED has met with representatives of the Hospital and Healthcare Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) to work through physicians’ concerns and will continue to work closely with the state legislature to achieve a set of regulations that are in the best interest of both Pennsylvania patients and physicians.