hospital consolidation

Kaiser Permanente to Acquire Geisinger, Along with 5-6 More Health Systems in the Near Future

Kaiser Permanente announced that it expects to acquire Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health. Kaiser’s move is part of a larger plan — Geisinger will be the first health system to join Risant Health, a new company Kaiser launched to operate nonprofit health systems under value-based care models. Kaiser said it expects to invest $5 billion in Risant and fold five or six health systems into the company over the next five years.

By Katie Adams

Health Tech, Legal

UPMC’s Monopoly Keeps Wages Low and Prevents Workers from Unionizing, Lawmakers Say

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are warning their constituents about UPMC, claiming the health system has built a monopoly that negatively affects both employee wellbeing and patient safety. They said UPMC has “considerable power over workers, which it wields to keep wages low, conditions unsatisfactory and prevent union organizing.”

By Katie Adams

Health Tech

2 Pennsylvania Health Systems Merge to Form $1B Entity

Butler Health System and Excela Health, both based in Pennsylvania, have merged to form a five-hospital system that is now the third largest in western Pennsylvania. The new health system will generate more than $1 billion in revenue and serve a population of 750,000, the organizations said.

By Katie Adams

MedCity Influencers, Hospitals, Legal

A myopic approach to merger regulation fails consumers instead of protecting them

Consolidated healthcare systems – even cross market systems – don’t have to raise their prices to have anticompetitive effects. They can leverage their size by using the volume of their purchases to extract discounts and other concessions from payers, national suppliers, and from labor pools.

By Michael Abrams

Legal, Hospitals, BioPharma

The “biggest thorn in President Trump’s side” is now HHS Secretary. What’s next?

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra may have won a narrow confirmation to be the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, but if his past is any indication, his agenda will be bold when it comes to reining in pharma companies, boosting the Affordable Care Act and scrutinizing hospital consolidation.

By Khadijah M. Silver

Health Services, Hospitals

Study: Hospital M&A doesn’t improve patient care

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed a decline in patient experience after hospitals had merged.

By Elise Reuter - Medcity News