Healthcare Consolidation
New York Times Calls Attention to Impact of Hospital Mergers on Healthcare Prices
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 14, 2018
A New York Times article came out today highlighting how hospital mergers result in higher healthcare prices to patients, based on research and analysis conducted by UC Berkeley’s Nicholas C. Petris Center. While hospitals claim that consolidation would save consumers money, the opposite is true due to reduced competition resulting from the consolidation. In addition to continued consolidation of hospitals across the country, the article suggests there is a growing trend of large hospital systems buying up doctors’ groups and medical practices. According to Richard Scheffler, Director of the Petris …
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Two Takeaways from Health Affairs’ “Improving Care for Californians” Forum
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher October 26, 2018
On October 15, 2018, Health Affairs hosted a forum in Sacramento called “Improving Care for Californians.” Two unifying themes emerged from the three panels. First, there is a growing tension between integration and consolidation in health care. Some panelists presented data that demonstrated that integrated health delivery networks often provide better and more integrated care, but that when healthcare delivery markets become highly concentrated, prices tend to increase. Second, the panelists discussed substantial improvements in healthcare in California, but all agreed that substantial work remains to be done to improve …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – October 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 15, 2018
It’s been an eventful month for healthcare litigation and enforcement action. Following coverage in last month’s Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we revisit and follow up with significant new developments in SB 17 litigation and the CVS-Aetna and Cigna-Express Scripts mergers. Additionally, we take a peek at another major healthcare merger on the horizon. PhRMA Refiles Lawsuit Challenging California’s SB 17 Last month on The Source blog, we reviewed the California federal court’s dismissal of PhRMA’s legal challenge against SB 17 on procedural grounds and noted that plaintiff will likely …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – September 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor September 17, 2018
In this month’s Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we recap two small but meaningful wins in courts for state legislation aimed at controlling rising drug prices. We also take a peek at the newest developments of two potential mega mergers and the legal challenge against the Affordable Care Act, both of which could change the landscape of the healthcare industry. Judge Boots Challenge Against California’s Transparency Law on Technicality In the latest development of the legal challenge against California’s recently passed SB 17, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern …
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Bills in the Other House: How 2018 California Healthcare Bills Have Evolved
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher August 22, 2018
The last two editions of The Source’s California Legislative Beat introduced some possibly transformative healthcare bills. However, many of those bills had passed only one house of the legislature at the time of writing. For a bill to become law, it must first be approved by both houses. Since passing the Assembly, some of those bills have gone through additional committees and are steadily progressing to a vote by the Senate. When a bill proceeds to the other house, it can (and have been known to) radically change. A bill …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – August 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor August 15, 2018
This month we highlight new developments in several high profile antitrust enforcement cases and pharmaceutical legal actions, including 1) new challenges to the proposed Beth Israel-Lahey merger, 2) expanded probe into generic drugs price-fixing scheme, 3) conclusion to Allergan’s patent saga, and 4) the future of Maryland’s price gouging law. Massachusetts Health System Merger Hits Roadblock, with Rocky Road Ahead We have our eye on the proposed merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health, which has been under regulatory review since December 2017. As we covered …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – July 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor July 16, 2018
June has been a busy month in terms of healthcare litigation and enforcement action. In this issue, we highlight 1) implications of the AT&T-Time Warner merger for vertical mergers in healthcare, 2) FTC’s big win in a pharmaceutical pay-for-delay case, and 3) constitutional challenges against state drug pricing laws. AT&T-Time Warner Merger Encourages Healthcare Vertical Mergers but May Mean Little Last month, a federal court approved AT&T and Time Warner’s $85 billion merger without condition, setting off a wave of speculation on how the decision could impact pending healthcare …
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The Source’s Jaime King Awarded American Antitrust Institute Award
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor July 5, 2018
We are excited to announce that The Source’s Executive Editor Jaime S. King has been awarded the Jerry S. Cohen Award by the American Antitrust Institute for her article “The Anti-Competitive Potential of Cross-Market Mergers in Health Care,” which she co-authored with Erin C. Fuse Brown of Georgia State University College of Law. The article won in the “Best Antitrust and Mergers Article” category and discusses the potential for cross-market acquisition to harm competition, and whether existing antitrust laws could support challenges to cross-market acquisitions. The Cohen Award was created in …
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The Source Roundup: July 2018 Edition
Source Fellow July 2, 2018
By: Megan O’Leary, Student Fellow Happy July! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover six academic articles and reports from May and June. The topics this month include: (1) the drug rebate system, (2) provider-payer integration as model for healthcare reform, (3) anticompetitive behaviors that delay generic drug competition, (4) short-term insurance plan expansion increases 2019 ACA marketplace premiums, and (5) competition concerns of healthcare consolidation. The Drug Rebate System is Not the Villain in Rising Health Care Costs There are plenty of reasons health care price …
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Source Advisory Board Member Tim Greaney Offers Policy Recommendations in Healthcare Antitrust White Paper
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 29, 2018
Source Advisory Board Member Tim Greaney co-authored a two-part white paper with Professor Barak Richman of Duke University for the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) on healthcare competition. In Part I of the series, Greaney and Richman provide an in-depth analysis of consolidation in the markets for delivery and payment of healthcare services by taking a close look at horizontal and vertical mergers in both the provider and insurer markets. The paper identifies major competition concerns brought on by consolidation and suggest further academic and policy research to support more vigorous antitrust enforcement. In Part II, Greaney and …
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