29 de gen. 2015

Hospitals and market share: Is market power good or bad?


David Cutler, Professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Economics and Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University published with Fiona Scott Morton in 2013 at JAMA Hospitals, market share and consolidation. They said in their conclusion:

" A central economic question about the emerging health system is whether consolidation of large hospital institutions is beneficial or harmful. The answer is not always the same because it depends on the environment in which consolidation occurs, who is consolidating, how large each organization is in its different markets,and whether the combined entity improves quality of care.

Having policy makers be smart about how hospitals and other health care institutions are allowed to consolidate is critical to ensuring that the population is receiving the best care possible at reasonable, affordable prices".

Recently it has appeared a report done by FTI consulting that says: "Hospital mergers offer substantial benefits for patients and communities. This study provides a comprehensive review and analysis of hospital merger studies and trends that uncovers a reality rooted in research and quite different than what many people think". FTI consulting report (2014)

Two interesting papers to read this 2015 and analyse the benefits and harms of market power in the health care sector.

Reading it we probably could understand and anticipate what will happen (or happening now!) in Spain in general and in Catalonia and Barcelona in particular in the private health care sector market and the behaviour of the different actors: health care organiazations, insurances, doctor companies, and consumers.

photo: (*) Photosolde
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