U.S. health care prices are a major reason why Americans spend far more on health care yet are no healthier than their counterparts in other developed nations. These price markups are driven by insufficient competition in U.S. health care markets, yet rapid consolidation continues among health care providers. In 2018, the value of health care mergers and acquisitions amounted to more than $120 billion. In addition to consolidation between like firms—hospitals acquiring other hospitals or pharmacy chains merging together—the health care sector is experiencing increased vertical consolidation—that is, integration among companies that provide different sets of services.
Please join us at the Center for American Progress for this timely event on trends among health care providers and the role of antitrust policy. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will speak about ways that Congress, the FTC, and states can promote competition in health care provider markets generally and among hospitals in particular. She will be followed by a panel of experts who will discuss how consolidation affects both patients and health care workers and the role of policy in the increasingly concentrated health care industry.
Introductory remarks:
Topher Spiro, Vice President for Health Policy, Center for American Progress
Keynote speaker:
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
Featured panelists:
Kyle Arnone, Deputy Director, Center for Collective Bargaining
Niall Brennan, President and CEO, Health Care Cost Institute
Michael Kades, Director of Markets and Competition Policy, Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Moderator:
Emily Gee, Health Economist of Health Policy, Center for American Progress