Happy New Year! In this inaugural issue of 2022, we roundup articles and reports that you may have missed from the year end that examine various healthcare price and competition issues, including 1) an observational study on states’ merger review powers and their effect and 2) a review of policy options for addressing the extent and impact of consolidation in California. In addition, we cover articles that examine 3) the correlation between prices disclosed under the new hospital price regulation with total costs of care among commercially insured individuals, 4) …

All eyes are on Hackensack Meridian Health’s proposed acquisition of Englewood Healthcare Foundation as the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the FTC challenge last week. As healthcare entities continue to actively pursue mergers and affiliations during —and in part driven by— the coronavirus pandemic, the outcome of this New Jersey merger may have significant implications for both federal and state antitrust enforcement across the country. In this post, The Source brings you up to speed with the latest developments leading up to the high-stakes appeal and …

Health care consolidation has been on the rise for decades, leading to higher health care prices, not higher quality. Today, two-thirds of hospitals in the U.S. are part of a larger health system; almost 1 in 3 physicians now works in a hospital-owned practice. Many regions are dominated by a single system, leaving patients and families without access to affordable, high-quality care.   Arnold Ventures recently released the second video in a series about high health care prices and the impact they have on health care costs and affordability for …

This month’s Roundup focuses on articles highlighting market consolidation and healthcare affordability, which can both have important implications for patient outcomes. First, we examine articles and reports that study 1) the need for a robust administrative review process for all healthcare transactions, 2) post-merger outcomes for hospital system and patients, and 3) consolidation in the dialysis industry. Next, we highlight articles and reports focusing on growing healthcare costs and affordability that specifically examine 4) the impact of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, 5) changes in employer healthcare benefits …

In July 2021, President Biden’s executive order called on federal agencies to strengthen antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry to promote and revitalize healthcare competition and price transparency in the U.S. In response to the call to action, the agencies, particularly the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have mobilized and stepped up their efforts by providing additional guidance and oversight of consolidation in the healthcare market. In this issue of Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we take a look at the FTC’s reinstatement and implementation of the prior approval rule, the latest …

On October 21, the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Source on Healthcare Price and Competition hosted a webinar on steps that states are taking to foster more competitive health care markets and lower health care prices, featuring The Source Senior Health Policy Researcher Katie Gudiksen and state regulators from Connecticut and Oregon. The recording is now available to watch for free: Watch Recording Download Powerpoint Presentation (Katie Gudiksen) For more information, check out the 3-part Milbank Memorial Bank series authored by the Source team. The first brief called for collaboration of state and …

California is one of the leading states in healthcare antitrust enforcement. Following the footsteps of former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led the antitrust lawsuit against northern California hospital giant Sutter Health, the new attorney general Rob Bonta continues to exercise the AG’s expansive authority with aggressive enforcement actions in the California provider market. Earlier in the summer, the AG’s office settled a lawsuit filed by Cedars-Sinai Health System and Huntington Memorial Hospital, with revised competitive impact conditions on the cross-market affiliation in Southern California to address potential harms …

Increasingly, hospitals have merged to form dominant health systems that can exert market power and charge anticompetitive prices that increase health care prices and burden the economy. A recent series of Milbank Memorial Fund issue briefs by researchers from the Source for Healthcare Price on Competition identified specific state policies and practices that can deter health care provider concentration, including improved merger review, oversight of anticompetitive conduct, and bans on potentially anticompetitive contract terms that apply to health insurers and providers. On October 21 at 3 p.m., ET, the Milbank …

This month, we are pleased to highlight two recent publications co-authored by health policy researchers from The Source. We specifically examine articles and reports discussing market consolidation including 1) viable practices state policymakers can implement to address provider market power, 2) a critical look at legislation targeting concentrated markets, 3) statistical reports analyzing health insurance market consolidation, and 4) a study on the quality of care in post-merger rural hospitals. In addition, we cover articles that examine public option health plans recently enacted in some states, proposals to improve compliance …

Hackensack Meridian Health’s proposed acquisition of Englewood Healthcare Foundation is the latest case to watch amidst increased federal antitrust scrutiny of healthcare mergers. While the FTC’s preliminary injunction against the merger was approved by the New Jersey district court early last month, the entities continue to put up a fight pending the FTC administrative trial set for October. In this post, The Source provides a recap of the latest development in the case and a preview of what’s to come.   FTC Challenge to Block Merger Hackensack Meridian Health, formed …