The Health Law Ticker

COVID-19 accelerated the trend of physician employment with hospitals, with recent data showing that nearly 70 percent of physicians are employed by hospitals or hospital-affiliated foundations or groups.  While physician integration improves quality of care and clinical efficiency, it also blurs the separation of responsibilities between the medical staff and the employer.  This can create headaches for stakeholders who want to address physician performance issues. … 

As healthcare grows increasingly complex, delivery structures continue to evolve.  A popular arrangement is the “Friendly PC” model, where large medical groups are backed by private equity or health system investment and administrative support.  But courts and lawmakers have become concerned that certain Friendly PC arrangements encroach on physician autonomy and violate the century-old prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine (“CPOM”).  A recent lawsuit—American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group, Inc. v. Envision Healthcare Corporation ...

As private equity firms, health systems and entrepreneurs in the medical delivery space seek to gain a level of control over physician practices, many choose to operate under the “Friendly PC” model, especially as many states place restrictions on the corporate practice of medicine.  Under this model, the professional corporation employs the physicians and the non-clinical assets are owned by the health system or private equity firm or related management company, which also employs the non-clinical employees. That management company then has an agreement with the Friendly ...

Bill SB 642 is currently under consideration by the California State Legislature and would, if enacted, severely restrict use of the Stock Restriction Agreement and similar arrangements used in the “Friendly PC” model. It would also require significant restructuring of arrangements that use this model for physician integration or practice acquisition in California. During the first legislative session of 2021 2022, SB 642 was passed by the three committees in the California State Senate that considered the bill, and it was placed on the suspension calendar for ...