Bill in Congress that would ban corporate medicine has some roots in Eugene

Six Democrats in Congress introduced a bill Wednesday, Sept. 16, to ban the corporate practice of medicine, citing the PeaceHealth controversy earlier this year over its decision to switch from locally based Eugene Emergency Physicians to Georgia-based ApolloMD for emergency department staffing.

PeaceHealth reversed that decision in May, offering Eugene Emergency Physicians its contract back after mounting pressure, scrutiny from elected officials and a lawsuit centered on Oregon’s law on corporate medicine. 

Signed into law last June, the state statute closed a loophole in Oregon’s corporate practice of medicine doctrine — a loophole that allowed corporations to disguise themselves as physicians groups. 

For example, ApolloMD was serving as what’s called a management services organization. Under Oregon law, it can provide administrative support but cannot deliver clinical care.

That role is reserved for a professional medical entity — a physician-owned practice responsible for patient care, groups like Eugene Emergency Physicians. ApolloMD had created its own professional medical entity, but a federal judge described the setup as a “shell game.”

Oregon’s law is a legislative model for the national bill.

Democratic lawmakers from Oregon, including Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Val Hoyle are among the sponsors of the bill, dubbed the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act.

Other sponsors include Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.).

“I’m proud of Oregon’s pioneering state law that has been used by doctors to protect their independence, and it’s time to take that model to the federal level,” Wyden said in a press release. “Corporate medicine is making health care more expensive for everyone, and safeguards must be put in place to ensure health care decisions stay in the hands of physicians.” 

Hoyle, also quoted in the press release, said 80% of doctors in the United States are employed by corporate entities, up from 62% in 2019.

“Healthcare should not be a line item in a spreadsheet,” she said. “The Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act will ensure proper protections are in place, so our healthcare systems serve the best interests of our patients, not corporations.”