Too often, health care insurers steer patients away from high quality physicians towards their own facilities, even if those surgeons are in-network. This concern is seen frequently with integrated health systems that may credential surgeons to be in-network but deny patients the opportunity to receive care at those surgeons’ facilities because the integrated health systems prefer self-referring patients to their own facilities.

To address this, I will be introducing legislation to ensure patients have the equivalent of network access at high-quality, physician-owned health care facilities. Under this legislation, health care insurers would be required to grant access to physician-owned facilities that meet quality standards and can provide an earlier date for the scheduled surgery.

This change will ensure that patients have access to a broader range of high-quality facilities, promote fair competition among surgical facilities and reduce waiting times for those desperately in need of medical treatment. 

Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation which will improve access to quality surgical services for Pennsylvanians.