Over the previous 30 years, hospitals and doctor practices have been merging at an accelerated tempo, and consequently, they’ve been capable of command greater costs for his or her providers. The highest ten largest well being methods within the nation management virtually a quarter of the nationwide hospital market, and over 70 p.c of hospital markets across the nation have been categorized as “extremely concentrated.” Hospitals have additionally been steadily buying doctor practices. As of 2018, hospitals owned virtually half the doctor practices, and as of 2020, hospitals employed greater than half the physicians within the nation.
Supplier consolidation can have a big detrimental influence on sufferers. Proof exhibits that consolidation raises well being care costs, and may worsen well being care outcomes, high quality of care, and entry to providers. Federal and state regulators can play a job in pushing again towards supplier consolidation.
To discover the effectiveness of federal and state instruments that promote market competitors and mitigate supplier consolidation, CHIR consultants interviewed federal- and state-level coverage consultants, with a selected give attention to three states with native markets which have skilled a number of the largest will increase in hospital consolidation between 2017 and 2021: Indiana (Evansville); New Hampshire (Manchester); and West Virginia (Huntington).
Drawing from background analysis and findings from these interviews, the report discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments presently out there to federal and state policymakers to deal with supplier consolidation, and supplies suggestions for the way they’ll strengthen their oversight of well being care markets.
Learn the complete concern transient right here.
Funding for the writing and analysis of this report was supplied by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and LLS acquired partial assist for this report from Arnold Ventures. Further publications by CHIR researchers could be discovered right here. CHIR consists of a staff of nationally acknowledged consultants on well being reform. For extra on our work, please see our web site, weblog, and comply with @GtownCHIR on X (previously Twitter.)
