Bigger Hospitals May Lead to Bigger Bills for Patients.
(no shit, sherlock)
Hospitals across the nation are being swept up in the biggest wave of mergers since the 1990s, a development that is creating giant hospital systems that could one day dominate American health care and drive up costs. . .
Some economists and health insurance companies worry the trend could drive up the cost of health care.
“The rhetoric is all about efficiency,” said Karen Ignagni, the chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group that represents insurers. “The reality is all about higher prices.” . . .
Federal regulators are concerned that the growing number of mergers could lead to anticompetitive practices. The Federal Trade Commission has increased its examination of the deals and has blocked a handful of transactions.
Last year, two hospital chains in Illinois, OSF Healthcare System of Illinois and Rockford Health System, abandoned plans to merge after the F.T.C. challenged the deal on the expectation that the combined hospitals would control 64 percent of acute-care inpatient services. That, regulators said, would allow the combined entity to raise rates and “impose a financial burden on local employers and employees,” through higher insurance premiums, co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/business/bigger-hospitals-may-lead-to-bigger-bills-for-patients.html?hp