Forbes September 16, 2019
Hospital behemoth Sutter Health—a non-profit organization in Northern California that has gradually acquired 24 hospitals and 5,000 physicians—will soon go to court to defend itself against allegations that it has violated the state’s antitrust laws.
The plaintiffs claim that Sutter illegally pushed competitors out of the market and raised prices for patients. Indeed, compared to Southern California, where the market is less concentrated, patients in Northern California pay 70% higher inpatient prices and up to 55% higher outpatient prices.
This is just one example of a trend engulfing the health sector. Hospitals are rapidly consolidating. Small, independent healthcare providers are dying off—and not of natural causes.
Obamacare is killing them.
Obamacare’s architects thought hospital consolidation would streamline care, improve the...
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