Competition
The Source Joins Panel Discussion on Exploring the Market Competition Ecosystem
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 13, 2022
On October 19, The Source Executive Editor Katie Gudiksen and Distinguished Fellow Tim Greaney will join a panel of experts for the Alliance for Health Policy in a virtual event on “Exploring the Market Competition Ecosystem: Lessons Learned and Next Steps”. The panel will discuss past and current trends in market consolidation ecosystem, explore current legislative and administrative policy levers, and identify lessons learned at the state and federal levels. Be sure to register in advance here! October 19 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET | Virtual Speakers: Erin Fuse …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: October 2022 Edition
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor October 3, 2022
Fall is upon us, and the time is better than ever to sip on a cup of tea (or coffee) and catch up on some of the latest articles and reports! In this month’s Source Roundup, we cover a variety of topics in healthcare price and competition. First, we shine the spotlight on the rise in private equity acquisitions, particularly of physician practices and ambulatory surgical centers, and highlight some of the latest studies that examine the implications of these acquisitions on healthcare cost and spending, utilization, and quality. Second, …
Continue Reading Download PDF
HCA Healthcare and Mission Health Face Wave of Lawsuits for Anticompetitive Contracting
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor September 14, 2022
Anticompetitive contracting practices have been under antitrust enforcement scrutiny from both state regulators and private parties in recent years. In California, hospital giant Sutter Health faced several high-profile lawsuits for its alleged anticompetitive contracts. While the state case led by the California attorney general settled earlier this year, the federal class action is on its way to the 9th Circuit appeal. HCA Healthcare, a large health system in North Carolina, appear to be the next health system under litigation fire for similar practices. Three separate actions have been filed by …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: September 2022 Edition
Enne Mae Guerrero, Graduate Research Fellow September 1, 2022
In this month’s Source Roundup, we start out with the latest articles and reports that examine consolidation and lack of competition in the healthcare markets, specifically 1) the impact of certificate of public advantage legislation and 2) the impact of dialysis consolidation on Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. We also highlight a few articles discussing healthcare prices and costs, including 3) the impact of inflation on the healthcare sector, 4) the divergence in cost growth between Medicare and the private insurance sector, and 5) factors that cause health spending to rise in …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Final Settlement of BCBS Antitrust Class Action Hopes to Increase Competition Among Insurers
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor August 15, 2022
This month, a long-standing private antitrust lawsuit against Blue Shield/Blue Cross came to a conclusion after a decade of litigation. After a favorable court ruling for the class plaintiffs on a key legal issue, the final settlement agreement received approval in federal court and provides both monetary and injunctive relief that is intended to boost competition in the insurance market. Filed in 2012 by employers and individual policyholders with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) coverage, the putative class action alleges that BCBS entities conspired to divvy up insurance markets all over …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: August 2022 Edition
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor August 1, 2022
Summer may be going by like a breeze, but you can still catch up on some of the latest studies and reports in healthcare market and prices in the Source Roundup as usual. In this issue, we first take a look at the latest trends in hospital and health system consolidation. More than a year since the implementation of the federal hospital transparency rule, researchers continue to study and examine the hospital price data that were disclosed, including characteristics of hospitals that have complied with the rule, trends in prices …
Continue Reading Download PDF
California Establishes Office of Healthcare Affordability with Approval of 2022-2023 State Budget
Robin Davison, Senior Health Policy Researcher July 15, 2022
On June 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 2022-2023 state budget, which includes a trailer bill (SB 184) that provides funding to establish the highly anticipated Office of Healthcare Affordability (OHCA) within the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). California joins a number of other states including Massachusetts, Oregon, and Rhode Island, as it becomes the latest state to establish a healthcare cost commission. This is a promising step forward in California’s efforts to control health care costs while ensuring high quality and broad accessibility. The main …
Continue Reading Download PDF
California AG Considers Cross-Market Effects in Merger Review and Conditional Approval of USC Health System and Methodist Hospital Affiliation
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor July 14, 2022
As federal agencies including the FTC and DOJ step up antitrust enforcement efforts in response to Biden’s executive order to revamp competition in the healthcare market, more and more healthcare entities are turning to less traditional consolidation that did not previously trigger antitrust scrutiny, such as “cross-market” mergers, which involve providers that do not directly compete in the same geographic market.[1] This month in Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we take a look at the latest merger review and conditional approval of a proposed cross-market transaction in California, the third of …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: July 2022 Edition
Enne Mae Guerrero, Graduate Research Fellow July 1, 2022
Happy Summer! We kick off the holiday weekend with the latest research and articles in healthcare price and competition. This month’s Roundup highlights articles and reports that discuss 1) the impact and trends of private equity investment in health care; 2) compliance trends of the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule; and 3) the role of high prices in excess healthcare spending in the U.S. and possible strategies for cost containment, including methods to limit costs and spending, such as 4) health savings accounts, 5) out-of-pocket spending limit for Medicare, and …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Q2 2022: Antitrust Enforcement Actions Flourish Against Healthcare Consolidation and Anticompetitive Contracting
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 14, 2022
It’s been a busy month in healthcare antitrust land, both for federal regulators and private plaintiffs, as we saw an explosion of enforcement actions challenging both proposed mergers and anticompetitive conduct that stemmed from previous mergers. From New Jersey to Utah, large health systems such as HCA are being increasingly scrutinized and coming under fire for garnering and using their market power in anticompetitive ways. Merger Challenges Fresh from its appeals court win in the Hackensack Meridian and Englewood merger challenge, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is continuing its …
Continue Reading Download PDF