Provider Consolidation Infograph

Provider Consolidation Infograph

Provider Consolidation Infograph

 

Provider Consolidation Infograph

The AHIP infograph provides visually a great infograph describing how provider consolidation increases costs. According to Wall Street Journal Article this week –Four Key Questions for Health-Care Law  “The proliferation of hospital mergers and hospitals’ appetite for buying doctors’ practices—in part to assure a steady stream of patients to fill hospital beds—could create local monopolies that raise prices without increasing efficiency. ‘Historically,’ says Deloitte’s Mr. Keckley, ‘hospital consolidation hasn’t reduced costs.’”

See prior blog posts on consolidations:

https://360peo.com/p/nyu-beth-israel-hospital-merger-and-acos

Aetna and Hunterdon HealthCare Partners Forge New Accountable Care Relationship 

NYU Beth Israel Hospital Merger and ACO

UnitedHealthcare Buying Medical Groups

WellPoint to Acquire Amerigroup Amid Health Care Overhaul

HIP/GHI Merger

If we as a society ask our hospitals to behave as industries then size matters in achieving economies of scale.  However, the important question we must then answer are we operating in a true free market economy when someone gets sick?