Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Texas lawmakers allow rural hospitals to hire doctors, to help relieve shortages

A new law in Texas will allow rural hospitals to hire doctors, "ending a longstanding ban," Alexandra Wilson Pecci reports for HealthLeaders Media. The law applies to hospitals in counties of 50,000 population or less, sole community hospitals and critical access hospitals, which get slightly lartger Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements in return for limiting beds, admissions and patient stays.

Pecci writes, "Physician recruitment is already a problem in rural communities, so prohibiting employment of physicians was another roadblock for Texas hospitals, especially since nearby states allow physician employment, proponents of the law say."

Don McBeath, director of advocacy of communications for the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, told Pecci, "We're very optimistic that this will be huge step toward enhancing access to healthcare in rural Texas by virtue of being able to recruit more physicians into rural areas." (Read more)

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