December 12, 2025 

Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and Majority Whip Emmer:

We, the 42 undersigned organizations that represent physicians, payers and patients, support the efforts of House Republican leadership to expand an innovative and practical solution to the healthcare access, affordability, and consolidation crisis facing America: provider-owned hospitals (POHs).

Healthcare access is at a crisis point. Particularly in many rural areas, the local EMS agency is the only remaining healthcare provider. Nearly 700 rural hospitals are at risk of closure due to severe financial pressures, which places millions of Americans in healthcare deserts without timely access to care. For many, this means traveling long distances and enduring significant delays to receive even the most basic medical treatment. A 2019 study by Altarum found that the economic impact of time spent traveling and waiting for healthcare costs Americans $89 billion annually.

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