Together, the Paragon and Families USA reports paint a clear picture of a healthcare system in which consolidation increasingly shields hospitals from competitive pressure while driving costs steadily higher.
A growing bipartisan consensus is emerging around one of the biggest drivers of America’s healthcare affordability crisis: hospital consolidation.
Two reports published this spring—one from the market-oriented Paragon Health Institute and another from the progressive advocacy group Families USA—arrive at remarkably similar conclusions. Large hospital systems have gained enormous market power in recent years. That market power has enabled them to command higher prices—and sustain healthy balance sheets.
That agreement matters because healthcare debates in Washington rarely produce much ideological overlap. But when organizations on opposite sides of the political spectrum identify the same problem, policymakers should pay attention.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Left And Right Agree—Hospital Consolidation Is Driving Up Healthcare Costs
Sally C. Pipes
Together, the Paragon and Families USA reports paint a clear picture of a healthcare system in which consolidation increasingly shields hospitals from competitive pressure while driving costs steadily higher.
A growing bipartisan consensus is emerging around one of the biggest drivers of America’s healthcare affordability crisis: hospital consolidation.
Two reports published this spring—one from the market-oriented Paragon Health Institute and another from the progressive advocacy group Families USA—arrive at remarkably similar conclusions. Large hospital systems have gained enormous market power in recent years. That market power has enabled them to command higher prices—and sustain healthy balance sheets.
That agreement matters because healthcare debates in Washington rarely produce much ideological overlap. But when organizations on opposite sides of the political spectrum identify the same problem, policymakers should pay attention.
Read the entire op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.