Competition
The Source Roundup: March 2020 Edition
Source Fellow March 1, 2020
By: Swaja Khanna, Student Fellow In this edition of the Source Roundup, we highlight articles and reports from February that discuss: (1) the prevalence of out-of-network billing during elective procedures with in-network services, (2) affordable care organizations’ potential to limit out-of-network spending, (3) findings from the new Health Care Cost and Utilization Report, (4) private health care spending growth varies by hospital referral regions, (5) U.S. has highest healthcare spending despite worst health outcome, and (6) how states policies encourage provider market competition and lower healthcare spending. The Prevalence …
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[Presentation] California State Assembly on Health Hearing on Cost Containment
Jaime S. King, Executive Editor February 25, 2020
California State Assembly on Health: Hearing on Cost Containment: Key Policy Considerations for California Presentation: “Trends and Approaches to Health Care Industry Consolidation”
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[Press Release] States Increasingly Turn to Legislation to Promote Competition and Control Health Care Prices, Per New Analysis from CPR and UC Hastings
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 25, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – February 25, 2020 – High commercial health care prices are a main driver of US health care spending, due in large part to consolidation among providers. While employers, other health care purchasers and payers can drive competition in the marketplace through benefit and provider network design, public policies can also strengthen and support those efforts. Catalyst for Payment Reform and The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition at UC Hastings College of the Law have catalogued state measures to enhance market competitiveness and control costs through legislation. The report, State Policies …
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Source Executive Editor and Advisory Board Members Release Comments on DOJ Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 24, 2020
Early in January, the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released a new draft guideline for vertical merger review and sought public comments. On February 24, The Source Executor Editor Jaime King, along with health economists and policy experts including Source Advisory members Tim Greaney and Richard Scheffler, jointly released “Comments on the Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines with Special Consideration to Health Care”. The comments raise concerns and urge that special attention be paid to the effects of vertical mergers in the health care sector, …
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[Presentation] National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium: Collaboration for a Value & Science-Driven Learning Health System
Jaime S. King, Executive Editor February 13, 2020
The National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium: Collaboration for a Value & Science-Driven Learning Health System Value Incentives & Systems Action Collaborative Presentation: “Affordability in Health Care: The Roles of Consolidation and Price Transparency”
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[Presentation] AcademyHealth 2020 National Health Policy Conference
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher February 11, 2020
AcademyHealth 2020 National Health Policy Conference Presentation: “Limiting Empire-Building: Why States Should Control Hospital Consolidation via Legislation and Litigation”
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The Source Roundup: February 2020 Edition
Tiffany Wang, Student Fellow February 3, 2020
Happy February! Here at The Source, we are grateful for the extra day in February to give our readers time to catch up with the latest health policy analysis and literature. This edition of the Source Roundup looks at articles and reports on 1) how monopolies have hurt consumers and what states can do to combat hospital acquisitions and mergers, 2) how well states are doing to make health care affordable; 3) why a single-payer system is financially feasible; and 4) what the United States can learn from other countries’ …
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Gov. Newsom’s Veto of AB 1014 Prevents Greater Regulation over Emergency Department Closures Amidst Loss of Health Access
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher February 1, 2020
In California and elsewhere, the closure of emergency departments (“ED”) reduces access and negatively affects patient health, particularly to the primary users of EDs, who are often low-income and most affected by the closure. In 2014, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) observed that California had the lowest number of EDs per capita[1] and gave California an “F”, ranking the state 42nd in the country in terms of access to emergency care.[2] However, California’s latest attempt to strengthen state oversight over ED closures faltered when Governor Newsom vetoed AB …
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[Sutter Case Watch] A Huge Deal: Settlement Terms of Sutter Health Antitrust Case Will Promote Transparency and Competition in California Provider Markets
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor January 15, 2020
See UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health case page. The high-profile antitrust case against Sutter Health settled on the eve of trial in October 2019, when the Northern California hospital giant reached a preliminary settlement agreement with the California Attorney General’s office and class action plaintiffs after five years of litigation. The terms of the settlement were released late December, which include both monetary compensation for the private plaintiffs and injunctions against Sutter’s conduct that will restore competition and promote transparency in the provider market. In this …
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DOJ and FTC Release Draft Updated Guidelines for Vertical Mergers
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor January 14, 2020
On January 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released a new draft guideline for vertical merger review. As opposed to horizontal mergers, vertical mergers generally combine entities that operate at different levels in the same supply chain. As vertical mergers become more commonplace in the healthcare industry, they are increasingly raising antitrust concerns as they often times don’t trigger the same level of scrutiny as do horizontal mergers. The much needed new guidelines specifically targeting vertical mergers serve to withdraw and update the …
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