In one of the more interesting demonstrations of "where you stand depends on where you sit," please note the co-author of this well done Perspective article in the NEJM, "The Good Merger." The key quote:
A “good” merger or affiliation is one that increases the value of health care by reducing costs, improving outcomes, or both, thereby enabling providers to generate and respond to competition. The all-too-common alternative is a merger intended to reduce competition — to ensure referral streams (which would otherwise be earned through superior offerings) or to help providers negotiate higher prices and thereby avoid the difficult work of improving outcomes and efficiency.
The co-author, Thomas H. Lee, now the chief medical officer of Press Ganey, was previously CEO of Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., and Network President for Partners Healthcare System.
The article advocates for everything Partners is not.
A “good” merger or affiliation is one that increases the value of health care by reducing costs, improving outcomes, or both, thereby enabling providers to generate and respond to competition. The all-too-common alternative is a merger intended to reduce competition — to ensure referral streams (which would otherwise be earned through superior offerings) or to help providers negotiate higher prices and thereby avoid the difficult work of improving outcomes and efficiency.
The co-author, Thomas H. Lee, now the chief medical officer of Press Ganey, was previously CEO of Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., and Network President for Partners Healthcare System.
The article advocates for everything Partners is not.
Levy strikes again! Ain't it the truth. Note that the article says how rare good mergers are, how often they are anti-competitive. What it doesn't say is how lax the FTC and state agencies have been with hospitals, all in the face of persistent evidence that the rise of health care costs begs for more competition.
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