Healthcare reform: the good, the bad, and the transformational.

Aspects of the recent landmark healthcare reform legislation likely to prove beneficial to hospitals include changes to insurance markets, malpractice reform demonstrations, and funding to help hospitals with high volumes of preventable readmissions. Hospitals are likely to be adversely affected by scheduled payment cuts and the employer "free rider" penalty. The legislation also poses transformational opportunities and challenges for hospitals, stemming from measures designed to change the care delivery system and provisions regarding hospitals' tax-exempt status and pricing transparency.