Hospital consolidation has resulted in fewer choices for physicians and higher costs for patients, insurers, and taxpayers, according to Paul B. Ginsburg, PhD, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution and a professor of health policy at the University of Southern California.
Hospital consolidation has resulted in fewer choices for physicians and higher costs for patients, insurers, and taxpayers, according to Paul B. Ginsburg, PhD, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution and a professor of health policy at the University of Southern California.
Transcript (slightly modified)
What impact does increased hospital consolidation have on patients, physicians, and the overall healthcare market?
Physicians are not fans of hospital consolidation because it really reduces some of their choices in their practice. Also, in this era of bundled payments and accountable care organizations, it just means fewer potential partners for them, just less ability to steer patients to the facilities that they think are most comfortable and are most efficient.
As far as patients go, consolidation to me is clearly a negative, and the biggest negative is on the price. And when I say the price, I’m talking not just about what they pay for hospital care, but what they pay for insurance, what their employer pays for insurance, and what we taxpayers pay to subsidize private insurance. So the literature on hospital consolidation raising prices is very solid.
The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) vote to ban most employers from issuing and enforcing noncompete clauses could have varying impacts on the health care workforce; federal regulators vastly under-enforced antitrust laws in the hospital sector during the last 2 decades, resulting in increased health costs; the FDA recently found genetic evidence of the H5N1 bird flu virus in pasteurized commercially purchased milk.
Read More
Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
Listen
What We’re Reading: Abortion Privacy Rules; Alzheimer Drug Hurdles; Nursing Home Staffing Overhaul
April 23rd 2024New health privacy rules aim to protect patients and providers in an evolving abortion landscape; some physicians express concerns about efficacy, risks, and entrenched beliefs in treating Alzheimer disease; CMS addresses longstanding staffing deficits in nursing homes.
Read More
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Beyond Insulin: The Impact of Next-Generation Diabetes Technology
April 17th 2024Experts explain how new diabetes technologies like continuous glucose monitors are transforming care beyond intensive insulin therapy, offering personalized insights and improving outcomes for patients of all treatment levels.
Read More