Those hospital mergers are costing us big bucks according to the NY Times.

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Those hospital mergers are costing us big bucks according to the NY Times.

You may have noticed that the big hospital systems have been getting bigger.  One major reason is the predatory nature of insurance companies who try to isolate and then negotiate prices with hospitals that have little negotiating clout.  Horizons Omnia plan that created tiers and made people who visited tier 2 hospitals and providers pay more, while warping the marketplace.

Hospitals that merge create an economic block that owns a large part of their geographic area.  Insurance companies must now negotiate with them and the result is that we pay more. They claim these mergers are done to save money, however, we are all now paying the price.

The NY Times recently looked at the phenomenon and found that with less competition, hospital admission prices have soared.   Your ER visit has also been costing more lately as well.  In the end, we all pay more for the same care we may have had a few years ago.

Check out the NY Times article

When Hospitals Merge to Save Money, Patients Often Pay More

By Reed Abelson
Nov. 14, 2018

The nation’s hospitals have been merging at a rapid pace for a decade, forming powerful organizations that influence nearly every health care decision consumers make.

The hospitals have argued that consolidation benefits consumers with cheaper prices from coordinated services and other savings.

But an analysis conducted for The New York Times shows the opposite to be true in many cases. The mergers have essentially banished competition and raised prices for hospital admissions in most cases, according to an examination of 25 metropolitan areas with the highest rate of consolidation from 2010 through 2013, a peak period for mergers.

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