Click to access PDF%20AlmanacRegMktBriefSanFran16.pdf
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: MAJOR PLAYERS DRIVE REGIONAL NETWORK DEVELOPMENT
http://www.chcf.org/publications/2016/01/regional-market-san-francisco
Tag Archives: Competition
California Health Care Foundation – Regional Markets Issue Brief (September 2016)
Click to access PDF%20AlmanacRegMktBriefLosAngeles2016.pdf
LOS ANGELES: THRIVING OR SURVIVING IN A FRAGMENTED MARKET
http://www.chcf.org/publications/2016/09/regional-market-los-angeles
AMA: Insurance megamergers ‘threaten healthcare access, quality and affordability’
- The merger of health insurance giants “would significantly compromise market competition in the health insurance industry and threaten health care access, quality and affordability,” the president of the AMA said as the group released new analyses of the mergers.
- In the analysis, the AMA claims the Anthem-Cigna merger would diminish competition in 121 metro areas across 14 states, and that the Aetna-Humana merger would diminish it in 51 metro areas across 15 states.
- The studies also note an “unprecedented lack of competition” that already exists in many states, the AMA says.
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2016/2016-09-21-ama-analyses-support-blocking-mergers.page
The rise of ‘super regional systems’ and what it means for healthcare
Consolidation has touched all facets of healthcare, including hospitals of all sizes, medical groups and insurers, and this trend will significantly affect the industry as a whole.
Mergers, acquisitions and other types of partnerships are critical as hospitals focus on providing coordinated, cost-effective care. There has been an increase in hospital M&A in recent years, with transactions rising 18 percent in 2015 compared to the year prior, according to an analysis by Kaufman, Hall & Associates.
Through consolidation, hospitals become more efficient and, many times, improve care quality. However, consolidation also increases leverage and causes revenue to rise. This has led to the creation of “super regional systems,” says Gregory F. Hagood, senior managing director and president of SOLIC Capital. This trend is noted in almost every major market, but it is most visible in metro areas like Chicago.
Rise Of The Megamergers: Inside The Record Year For Healthcare M&A
![Healthcare M&A Is Growing Fast [Infographic]](https://i0.wp.com/blogs-images.forbes.com/baininsights/files/2016/07/hc-pe-report-infographic.png)
42 hospital transactions and partnerships in August 2016
The following hospital mergers, acquisitions and general transactions took place or were announced in August.
Top 10 Medicaid insurers represent over half of U.S. managed care market
Fifty-seven percent of the U.S.’s managed Medicaid market is held by the top 10 Medicaid insurers, an analysis from a Washington, D.C., publishing and information company Atlantic Information Services found.
AIS’ Medicare and Medicaid market data found four of the top 10 payers are involved in mergers and acquisitions that may allow them to gain more market share. Specifically, Hartford, Conn.-based Aenta’s proposed acquisition of Louisville, Ky.-based Humana would allocate more than 400,000 Medicaid beneficiaries to Aetna, if the deal is not blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, the third ranked insurer, St. Louis-based Centene, acquired Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Health Net in July, leaving the resulting entity with the highest market share.
Here are the top 10 insurers with the most Medicaid beneficiaries and market share.
Is There a Cure for High Drug Prices?
http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/cure-for-high-drug-prices/
The cost of prescription drugs for tens of millions of Americans rose $2 billion last year, and all signs point to a continued rise. At stake is nothing less than the ability of Americans to afford the medicines they need. Can we stop the madness?
5 Reasons Prescription Drug Prices Are So High in the U.S.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-reasons-prescription-drug-prices-172518972.html
Blame it on “government-protected” monopolies.
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The “most important factor” that drives prescription drug prices higher in the United States than anywhere else in the world is the existence of government-protected “monopoly” rights for drug manufacturers, researchers at Harvard Medical School report today.
The researchers reviewed thousands of studies published from January 2005 through July 2016 in an attempt to simplify and explain what has caused America’s drug price crisis and how to solve it. They found that the problem has deep and complicated roots and published their findings in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. The study was funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation with additional support provided by the Engelberg Foundation.
“I continue to be impressed at what a complex and nuanced problem it is and how there are no easy solutions either,” said lead study author Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a professor who runs the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “As I was writing, the enormity of the problem continued to shine through.”
Five key findings in the JAMA review:
Showdown Looming on High Drug Prices?
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/HealthPolicy/59898?xid=fb_o_
Government intervention helped fuel the steep rise in prescription drug costs by granting monopolies to drug manufacturers and by mandating coverage in government-funded healthcare programs, authors of a review concluded.
In the U.S., per-capita spending on prescription drugs reached $858 in 2013, more than double the average for 19 other industrialized nations. Prescription spending accounted for 17% of the total cost of personal healthcare services.
The cost and complexity of drug development have contributed to the higher prices. However, the federal government essentially blocked the two most effective means of controlling prescription costs by delaying access to generics and placing constraints on government agencies’ ability to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers, Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and co-authors wrote in the Aug. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
HENRY KOTULA 