Eye hospitals diversify to stay afloat.

A special reimbursement deal from the government may not be enough to keep the nation's 18 eye specialty hospitals financially healthy. Many hospitals have been forced to diversify in the face of competition from freestanding surgery centers, which have chomped off much of the cataract surgery market. Also, the hospitals fear that peer review organizations soon may adopt a policy that would eliminate much of what's left of eye hospitals' remaining inpatient business.