Physician Practice Hospital Consolidation Increases Cost Of Care

An analysis of outpatient medical costs found that regions with the highest levels of physician hospital integration had annual outpatient spending per consumer that averaged $75 higher than regions with lesser integration levels. The $75 difference represented an increase of 3.1%.

The changes in physician-hospital integration were not associated with significant changes in inpatient spending. In the time period 2008 to 2012, in 240 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States, the degree of physician hospital integration increased by an average of 3.3 percentage points.    The national average for  annual spending per enrollee for outpatient care . . .