New concerns about consolidation

KFF Health News published an article speculating about new scenarios in which patients might find themselves facing higher prices because of consolidation within the healthcare industry. This country has already seen consolidation among provider practices, but the article highlights that new mergers and acquisitions are more complex. One example would be insurers buying medical practices, and another would be health systems merging with others in different geographic areas of the country. The nature of some of these more recent mergers make it more difficult to determine whether they are anti-competitive. For example, an insurer bought a specialty pharmacy, and now customers of that insurer might have to buy injectable prescriptions through that pharmacy, even though the medication might be available elsewhere for less. The article also notes that the current administration is less eager to prosecute anti-competitive behavior than the previous one.

Unfortunately, "studies show the escalating consolidation in health care is driving up prices, harming patient outcomes, and decreasing choice for people who need care. A recent study found that six years after hospitals acquired other hospitals, they had raised prices by 12.9%, with hospitals that engaged in multiple acquisitions raising their prices by 16.3%." Widespread consolidation undermines a free market, but stopping that trend in this country relies on an administration willing to combat it and judges who agree.