ST. PAUL, Minn. — A bipartisan group of three Senators in the Minnesota legislature have introduced legislation to restore to patients the right to have their trusted physician admit and treat them during hospitalization. The bill establishes “the right of hospitalized patients to receive treatment from their own doctors.” Hospital privileges are not required.
“Many hospitalized patients discover too late that their hospital will not allow their trusted physician or other health care practitioners to direct their care. Although the lack of access to care from the patient’s preferred practitioner became more visible to the public during Covid, it didn’t start there,” said Twila Brase, RN, PHN, president, and co-founder of the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom.
“The movement away from care directed by the patient’s own physician began in earnest with the Affordable Care Act’s “shared savings program” and its Accountable Care Organizations. ACOs that save the government money can share in those savings. Hospitals soon began to employ their own physicians, called hospitalists. These physicians are ultimately responsible to the hospital, not the patient,”
The transition away from the patient’s own doctor became news in Florida in December 2018 when Naples Community Hospitals announced that doctors not employed by NCH would not be allowed to admit patients, give medical orders or add notes to medical records, as reported by WINK News. At least 400 yards signs peppered downtown Naples in protest.
“The shared savings program set up a conflict of interest between patients and hospitals. Patients need to know that the doctor they trust can come into the hospital and care for them if hospitals create savings by cutting access to necessary care. We’re pleased that Minnesota legislators have taken action to protect the right of patients to have their care directed by a doctor they trust,” said Brase.
The “trusted doctor” legislation, introduced on March 8, 2023:
About Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom:
CCHF exists to protect patient and doctor freedom. As a national, non-partisan health freedom organization, CCHF maintains a patient-centered, privacy-focused, free-market perspective.
About the Author:
Twila Brase, RN, PHN is president and co-founder of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom. Her commentaries have appeared in CNSnews.org, The Daily Caller, LifeZette, the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune, The Hill, Townhall, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Times.
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