In the Kearney dispute, which prompted the bill, Good Samaritan Health Systems will now have “potential ownership interest” in the new physician-owned hospital it was opposing, the newspaper reported.
Following settlement of the dispute, brokered by state legislators, the bill’s sponsor wants to keep it alive. “For me, this issue was never solely about Kearney, even though that took the spotlight and the fireworks, I will admit,” said Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln.
While the new Kearney hospital would be exempted from the proposed state ban, investors only recently began construction. It will have to be open and have Medicare certification by Dec. 31, when a ban on new physician-owned hospitals under the federal health reform law takes effect.
Read the Journal Star’s report on physician-owned hospitals.
