The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act supports many hospitals' strategies for preparing for changes under the law, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Hospitals' merger and acquisition activity, their investment in outpatient services and their adoption of health IT were targeted to prepare for a surge in newly insured patients as well as cuts to Medicare, according to the report. The confirmation of the health law's constitutionality allows hospitals to move ahead with these strategies more aggressively. Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., said in the report, "We were going at 20 miles an hour before the law. The law brought you up to 70 miles an hour."
However, the Supreme Court ruling will still bring challenges for the healthcare industry, particularly for smaller hospitals that are struggling to cut costs and attract paying patients, according to the report.
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Hospitals' merger and acquisition activity, their investment in outpatient services and their adoption of health IT were targeted to prepare for a surge in newly insured patients as well as cuts to Medicare, according to the report. The confirmation of the health law's constitutionality allows hospitals to move ahead with these strategies more aggressively. Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., said in the report, "We were going at 20 miles an hour before the law. The law brought you up to 70 miles an hour."
However, the Supreme Court ruling will still bring challenges for the healthcare industry, particularly for smaller hospitals that are struggling to cut costs and attract paying patients, according to the report.
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