According to the article, both small and large hospitals benefit from mergers. Big systems, for the smaller hospitals, offer the potential protection from future financial difficulties, provide doctors in places where physicians are in short supply and allow easier access to capital. Smaller hospitals allow the bigger chains to get footholds in new areas, where they can build market share and increase the number of patients they serve. As a result, patients also get access to the physicians in a larger network, even if they are miles away from a major medical institution.
In Maryland, the majority of these mergers are between not-for-profit hospitals, meaning no money is changing hands, with the larger system acquiring the debts and assets of the smaller hospital.
However, some see disadvantages to these mergers. According to the article, some communities worry that new ownership may mean the upending of long-lasting relationships with local physicians, especially if the new ownership eliminates their services from the hospital. Additionally, new ownership may mean job losses for some local employees if redundant services are eliminated.
According to 2007 data from the American Hospital Association, 56 percent of the nearly 5,000 hospitals in the United States were part of systems, large or small. Nearly one third of Maryland’s 47 hospitals remain independent.
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