News in brief - Feb. 13, 2006

Judge overturns hospital bans - AMGA data warehouse progresses - Surgery center company grows

Judge overturns hospital bans

A federal judge has overturned two Indiana counties' laws banning hospital construction.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in Indianapolis ruled Jan. 18 that Floyd and Clark counties violated the state's home rule law when they enacted temporary bans on hospital projects while they studied what effects competition would have on county-run hospitals. The judge said only the Indiana Dept. of Health could regulate hospitals under that law.

The ruling followed a similar opinion handed down in November 2005 in a case challenging a moratorium on hospital construction in Morgan County, Ind., near Indianapolis.

At least five Indiana counties have enacted such moratoriums the past few years as competition for health care dollars has heated up. Observers have said similar efforts by local government entities could become widespread as increasing competition and financial pressures bear down on community hospitals.

Dwight Lueck, an Indianapolis-based attorney for Floyd and Clark counties, near Louisville, Ky., said his clients were considering appealing the ruling.

AMGA data warehouse progresses

The American Medical Group Assn. has moved a step closer to building a national data warehouse, announcing Jan. 17 it selected Convergence CT, Honolulu, to build and operate the data warehouse for its subsidiary, Anceta LLC.

The Alexandria, Va.-based association will collect and analyze patient data from members, so they can use the data to measure their quality, economic and operational performance against their peers.

Members that contribute the raw data will have access to their own as well as aggregated data, AMGA said. De-identified data also will be available to employers, hospitals and others for a fee. AMGA has nearly 300 members serving more than 50 million patients annually in both inpatient and outpatient settings, representing 75,000 physicians in 42 states.

Surgery center company grows

United Surgical Partners International Inc., a Dallas-based surgery center management company, announced last month plans to enter the St. Louis market with the purchase of nine facilities.

The facilities are owned jointly by area physicians and SurgCenter Development, based in Chesterfield, Mo.

United Surgical said it has acquired four of the facilities, while five are under letters of intent. The company said it expects to officially acquire the remaining facilities in the next several months. The purchase price was not disclosed.