American healthcare has become increasingly consolidated over the past few decades. Health systems are acquiring hospitals, hospitals are acquiring physician practices, physician practices are pairing up, and cross-market mergers, in which providers combine across geographic market boundaries, are becoming more common. Too often, the result is to tamp down on competition and drive up costs.

A new report by an expert Working Group Ensuring Access, Affordability, and Quality in the Age of Healthcare Consolidation: Lessons Learned and Insights for the Future looks at the forces driving provider consolidation, the framework in place to regulate anticompetitive practices, and opportunities to prevent the harms sometimes associated with consolidation.

The report builds on a convening held in Washington, DC in May 2024 that brought together 17 health policy experts to consider the status of consolidation among healthcare providers, the challenges it poses to healthcare, and the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks that can influence its impact. While any policy reforms are certain to face resistance and court challenges prior to implementation, the Working Group report emphasizes the importance of taking action to foster a more competitive healthcare marketplace that better serves the public interest.

Working Group Participants

Co-chairs 

• Kathleen Foote, Antitrust Chief (Retired), California Office of the Attorney General
• Holly Vedova, Director, Bureau of Competition (Retired), Federal Trade Commission

Members

• Loren Adler, Fellow and Associate Director, Center on Health Policy, Brookings Institution
• Claire Brockbank, Director of Policy and Strategy, 32BJ Health Fund
• Erin C. Fuse Brown, Professor of Law, Georgia State University College of Law
• Caitlin Carroll, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota
• Eileen Cody, Former Member, House of Representatives, State of Washington
• Jamie Crooks, Founding Partner, Fairmark Partners, LLC
• Emily R. Gee, Senior Vice President, Inclusive Growth, Center for American Progress
• Katie Gudiksen, Executive Editor, The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
• Patrick Keenan, Director of Policy and Partnerships, Pennsylvania Health Access Network
• Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy
• Charles Miller, Senior Policy Advisor, Texas 2036
• Barak Richman, Katharine T. Bartlett Professor of Law and Business Administration, Duke University
• Richard M. Scheffler, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
• Yashaswini Singh, Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University
• Sophia Tripoli, Senior Director, Health Policy, Families USA

Special Guest