4 key insights into why states should drive healthcare competition

Healthcare is undergoing massive consolidation, thereby driving up prices and making healthcare unaffordable for many Americans.

Rather than having federal agencies work to enact antitrust policies, states need to take matters into their own hands to ensure healthcare remains competitive, according to Forbes.

Here are four insights:

1. In the first half of 2016, the healthcare industry has encountered almost 30 mergers, with the latest mega-merger uniting Advocate Healthcare and Northshore Health.

2. A Federal Trade Commission analysis found the Advocate Healthcare and Northshore merger made the inpatient service market nearly 68 percent more concentrated. When the FTC attempted to block the merger, the court ruled against the FTC.

3. Because healthcare regulation is primarily local, states may prove to be the ideal avenue to block mergers that would stifle competition. States have authority over which practitioners can practice medicine as well as can enforce insurance network standards.

4. States may want to prioritize consumers’ access to affordable healthcare over the interests of large health systems and payers.

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