Healthcare Systems Steer Patients to $6,000 Procedures as 82% of U.S. Physicians Work for Corporate Owners
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Sep 1
Healthcare Systems Steer Patients to $6,000 Procedures as 82% of U.S. Physicians Work for Corporate Owners
1 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Sep 1
Summary
Anne Hug’s uterine polyp removal bill doubled to about $6,000 after an Ohio health system shifted the procedure from a doctor’s office to its surgery center, even though she declined anesthesia and the removal took only minutes.
That switch reflects a broader vertical-integration model in which hospitals, insurers and private equity firms buy practices, pharmacies and surgery centers, then channel patients into higher-priced settings or affiliated services.
82% of U.S. physicians now work for hospitals, insurers, other corporations or private equity, and Yale researcher Zack Cooper found more than 99% of 275 physician-practice deals studied fell below the $133.9 million federal reporting threshold.
Regulators are struggling to keep up: the FTC has brought eight healthcare merger actions in Trump’s second term, while the Justice Department has brought two contract cases and settled UnitedHealth’s $3.3 billion Amedisys deal with divestitures.
Studies cited in the report found vertical integration often raises prices without improving care, and policymakers are weighing site-neutral payment rules that would pay the same amount regardless of where a procedure is performed.