House Bill 1460 Printer’s Number 1696, sponsored by Representative Lisa Borowski (D, Delaware), is intended to protect communities from hospital closures and the attendant loss of healthcare access to residents as well as the dislocation of healthcare employees as happened in the cities of Chester and Sharon. The bill provides the Office of Attorney General (OAG) review and approval powers over healthcare facility and practice mergers and acquisitions.
While the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society (PAOrtho) believes that protecting communities and workers from private equity acquisition of acute care general hospitals is an important and necessary legislative action, HB 1460 casts its net far too broadly to include physician-owned specialty hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs) as well as psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, long-term care nursing facilities, cancer treatment centers using radiation therapy on an ambulatory basis, inpatient drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and hospice facilities. PAOrtho believes that physician-owned specialty hospitals and ASFs be excluded from HB 1460’s provisions.
HB 1460 passed the House on June 10, 2025, on a 121 – 82 vote. The bill was referred to, and remains in, the Senate Institutional Sustainability & Innovation Committee.
As originally introduced, HB 1460 subjected to OAG review the sale of physician practices with eight or more members but valued at only $5 million. A House amendment removed physician practice acquisition from the legislation and increased the threshold for the sales of a facility to $10 million.
PAOrtho has diligently worked to exclude physician-owned specialty hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs) from HB 1460’s oversight net. In addition to Capitol Hill lobbying, a grassroots campaign was initiated in which PAOrtho members who own specialty hospitals and ASFs contacted their legislators with a specific advocacy message. We thank all the practices that participated in the campaign.
To review the text of HB 1460 PN 1871 as amended, please use the link below:
View the full PAOrtho Legislative Tracker (PAOrtho Members Only)