Larger independent gastroenterology groups price roughly on par with private equity-backed practices, according to a Jiro Health benchmark. The finding suggests the contracting advantage often credited to PE ownership may come from scale itself.
The data comes from Jiro’s Gastroenterology Practice Economics Benchmark 2026, which compared negotiated and paid rates for comparable work while holding procedure, insurer and city constant.
Here are six things to know:
1. Large independent GI groups perform roughly on par with PE-backed practices, “suggesting that scale may matter more than ownership structure alone,” the report said.
2. GI’s scale gap is not unusual. Larger independent GI groups post prices 12.5% above small independents, ranking GI 18th of 56 screened specialties. The cross-specialty median is 8.8%, placing GI in a moderate 8% to 15% tier.
3. Forty-seven of the 56 specialties showed a statistically significant positive gap between larger and small independents. “It is a contracting reality GI shares with most of medicine,” the report said.
4. The spread within a single market is wider. Top-quartile GI practices are paid 20% to 30% more than bottom-quartile practices for the same procedure, insurer and city.
5. Scale does not solve every pressure. Across 20 specialties, the median small-versus-large difference in second-procedure reductions is effectively zero, and independent and PE-backed practices see similar reductions. Payer policy drives that cut instead.
6. For practices where scale is the constraint, Jiro pointed to “lawful shared contracting, analytical, affiliation or enterprise options,” adding that “ownership change is not the only path.” The figures reflect professional fees only; facility fees were excluded.
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