Why The Mergers?

September 6, 2012
The August 26 edition of The Washington Post has a headline that immediately grabbed my attention – Affordable Care Act Driving Health Care Mergers – but I think that author Catherine Ho has missed the mark. Noting two recent (and large) health sector consolidations (Aetna will buy Coventry Health Care, and Health Care REIT will acquire McLean's Sunrise Senior Living), Ms. Ho draws the conclusion that large industry players are using consolidation as a way to address the smaller profit margins and higher compliance costs some expect will result from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA . . .