When people think of Medicare, they usually think of the government health insurance program for seniors over age 65. They may even recall that the program also extends to the disabled who are under 65. Few, though, see it as a program that big business and their D.C. lobbyists can use to drive smaller competitors out of business.
But that’s a perspective shared by many individuals who work in physician-owned specialty hospitals (PSHs). For years the “Big Hospital Lobby” waged war on physician-owned specialty hospitals, trying to drive the latter out of business by making it illegal for them to treat Medicare patients, a major revenue source.