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June 3, 2005
Specialty Hospital Issue – S. 1002
IHA Letter sent to Senators Richard Durbin and Barack Obama
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the Illinois Hospital Association and its two hundred member
institutions throughout Illinois, I respectfully ask you to co-sponsor S.B. 1002,
The Hospital Fair Competition Act of 2005, introduced by Sens. Max Baucus
and Charles Grassley.
This bipartisan bill would permanently extend the moratorium on
physician-owned limited service hospitals that is set to expire June 8. The bill
would not apply to those limited service hospitals already in existence or
underdevelopment before November 18, 2003, but it would limit their growth and
make certain investor restrictions.
Although health care delivery in America is rapidly changing, the reliance of
communities across the nation on hospitals to provide care to all, including the
uninsured and underinsured, remains a constant. Our full service community
hospitals are the health care safety net for those in need.
Limited-service hospitals often do not serve the broader community. There is
a trend for these providers to take on the more profitable services and cater to
well-insured patients, leaving the full-service community hospital to carry the
load of providing unprofitable yet vital services such as emergency, trauma, and
burn unit care. This practice places additional burdens on the community
hospital already struggling with financial pressures while working 24 x 7 to
meet the health needs of its patients and community.
Thank you for your continued support and leadership in health care issues,
and for consideration of S.B. 1002.
Yours truly,
Howard A. Peters III
Senior Vice President
cc: Health Care Legislative Assistant
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