UCHealth announces partnership with for-profit First Choice ERs in Colorado
The hospital system "will hold a majority stake" in freestanding emergency rooms operated by publicly-traded
Under the partnership, Adeptus-owned
The goal is to offer patients better access to care and more convenience, said Dr.
"It's really about putting patients in the center and getting closer to our patients," Zane said.
Details of the financial arrangement were not announced, except that the facilities will operate under a "joint venture," Zane said.
An Adeptus representative did not return a call to The Gazette on Tuesday.
The move pairs a rapidly expanding nonprofit, research-focused hospital system with a for-profit company that has garnered criticism for catering to lucrative, well-insured patients using questionable billing tactics.
Since leasing
Meanwhile, Adeptus has built dozens of freestanding emergency rooms in
But the company has proven controversial.
Insurance companies claim for-profit freestanding emergency rooms drive up insurance rates by billing ER prices for conditions that could better be treated by a family doctor or at less-expensive urgent care facilities.
Many of those concerns center around "facility charges" that often accompany emergency room bills. The facilities do not accept
"That puts a financial burden on hospitals and the community facilities," Ware said. He had not received any immediate comments regarding Tuesday's announcement.
Advocates for First Choice say the facilities offer a convenient alternative to crowded hospital emergency rooms, which can have burdensome wait times.
They are open 24/7, offering more convenience than urgent care clinics, which often close around
They also have all the amenities of traditional emergency rooms, including X-ray screenings, lab work and a room for child births. Meanwhile, urgent care clinics largely specialize in minor and moderate aliments, such as cuts, sinus and digestive problems.
If people need more advanced, lifesaving care at freestanding emergency rooms, including on-call specialists or surgery, they must be taken to a full-service hospital.
Coverage options may change under the partnership, Zane said.
Under the new partnership, UCHealth will oversee operations at each facility, and all Adeptus locations will be outfitted with UCHealth's electronic medical records system.
No layoffs - either physicians or staff members - are expected due to the partnership, Zane said, though doctors must be credentialed by UCHealth.
"There will be a total review of all of the emergency departments," Zane said. "But right now, the emergency departments are providing remarkably high quality care, and their physicians are all high caliber physicians."
The move appears to be a way to increase market share in an area where it's hard to build infrastructure, said
"It may just be their way or expanding their reach without too much investment," Roby said.
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