Cost Rises Linked to Health Care Consolidation

FEATURING Rising CEO JASON BEANS | Business Insurance | FEB 2024

February 5, 2024 – The acquisition of physician practices by large hospital systems is having an adverse effect on states’ workers compensation systems, experts say.

While proponents of so-called “vertical integration” in health care say the practice benefits consumers by delivering care more efficiently, workers comp researchers say consolidation drives up pricing due to decreased competition and can have a negative effect on return-to-work outcomes. And the efficiency argument, they say, relates to administrative efficiency, not patient care efficiency.

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