Bigger hospitals — bigger patient bills?

Deals involving hospital mergers doubled in 2012 compared to 2009 and this may have a significant impact on healthcare costs for consumers.

By Catherine Corbin, Cannon Design August 13, 2013

In yesterday’s  New York Times, there is an interesting article about the latest anticipated wave of big mergers among health systems. Much like the last go-around of mergers, this is in response to changes in policy in healthcare and government funding of those services. It’s a good, short read.

Here’s a powerful quote from the piece and a graphic that illustrates the wave of mergers.

"Whatever the outcome, hospitals are merging faster and in greater numbers than they have in years. After holding steady through much of the 2000s, the number of deals doubled to 105 in 2012 from 50 in 2009, according to Irving Levin Associates, a healthcare research firm. That is still less than half the annual peak during the last merger wave, in the late 1990s, but Booz and others say this is only the beginning."