Sutter has gained its reportedly high market share through more than 20 hospital takeovers, according to the report. Some critics say the “unchecked” power of hospital and physician groups should be a warning sign to regions heading toward market domination by several health systems.
A 2009 study by Cory Capps, a former U.S. Department of Justice economist, found higher prices stemming from hospital mergers that occurred between 1997 and 2006 added $12 billion to health care costs. Some states are calling for oversight of mergers and takeovers by large health systems, as well as oversight to ensure hospital groups are not using coercive tactics to extract higher rates from health insurers.
Read the Bloomberg Businessweek report on market power.
Read more on hospital finance:
–Health Insurer Trade Group Spends Big on Lobbying Even After Reform Passes
–Ohio’s Forum Health to Pay Nearly $29M for Overbilling Medicare
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