Stop Their Expansion? Hell, Shrink Them.
Monday, October 1, 2018
Priyanka Dayal McCluskey's Boston Globe article reports on concerns past times the MA Attorney General that the acquisition of a physicians grouping past times Partners Healthcare System volition heighten costs inwards the eastern Massachusetts wellness attention market.
Just v weeks later on its plans to merge amongst a big suburban infirmary were rebuffed, the state’s most powerful wellness organisation is moving to consummate an acquisition of a smaller doctors grouping that volition strengthen its foothold inwards the Eastern Massachusetts medical market.
The movement past times Partners HealthCare to receive got over Harbor Medical Associates, a do of close lxx physicians on the South Shore, straightaway drew burn from Attorney General Maura Healey.
Adding Harbor Medical to its physician network — already 6,000 potent — volition permit Partners to heighten the prices those doctors charge. The solid soil Health Policy Commission, which tracks medical spending, has said Partners’ acquisition of Harbor Medical would permanently heighten prices past times to a greater extent than than 41 per centum a year, adding $8 meg to annual spending.
But that's non all it would do. The acquisition would also cement inwards the referrals of those doctors to PHS hospitals, which are also priced good higher upwardly average. So non exclusively would local MD visits move out to a greater extent than expensive: Follow-up secondary in addition to third attention would also.
The AG in addition to the even out missy out on a cardinal chemical constituent of this scenario, the compliance of the major insurer inwards the state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA. Had non BCBS agreed to a contract term that allowed PHS to expand its base of operations of physicians, those doctors would non receive got been able to receive got been offered higher rates inwards the start out place. They powerfulness therefore receive got chosen to move out affiliated amongst roughly other network or to receive got remained independent. (Why create I exclusively hollo BCBS? Because it is, past times far, the dominant insurer inwards the state--with to a greater extent than subscribers than all the others combined--and the other modest companies are forced to follow its Pb on such issues.) Why is at that topographic point no investigation past times the AG into BCBS contracting practices?
I wonder, too, why the AG in addition to the paper create non expand on the implications of such statements equally this.
"Harbor Medical’s principal executive, Dr. Peter A. Grape, in addition to Brigham in addition to Women’s Hospital’s president, Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, added inwards a articulation contestation that the bargain volition compass South Shore patients amend access to specialists at Brigham."
This is a prima facie admission of discrimination on the run of this Harvard pedagogy hospital: You larn amend access to us exclusively if yous are referred past times a PHS doctor.
And it is probable also an admission that the Epic EHR beingness installed past times PHS also is beingness used inwards a discriminatory fashion: You exclusively larn interoperability betwixt your local doctor's in addition to the hospital's electronic wellness tape if both entities are run of the PHS system?
It's fourth dimension for the AG to receive got PHS to describe of piece of work for continuing exploitation of its existing marketplace position power, to pursue anti-trust measures to shrink the organisation down, inwards add-on to opposing its expansion. It's fourth dimension for the AG to insist on truthful interoperability of EHRs inwards the state--on which hundreds of millions of dollars inwards government-supported investments are beingness made--to permit total pick past times patients in addition to referring physicians. It's fourth dimension for the newspaper, too, to hollo for out the inherent inconsistencies inwards the PHS statements in addition to actions: Report on the existing occupation of marketplace position power, non exclusively increments to it. A proficient start out pace would last to banking concern fit out that PHS billion dollar Epic EHR organisation in addition to come across how costly it volition last for a non-PHS physician grouping or infirmary to central patient medical records.
Just v weeks later on its plans to merge amongst a big suburban infirmary were rebuffed, the state’s most powerful wellness organisation is moving to consummate an acquisition of a smaller doctors grouping that volition strengthen its foothold inwards the Eastern Massachusetts medical market.
The movement past times Partners HealthCare to receive got over Harbor Medical Associates, a do of close lxx physicians on the South Shore, straightaway drew burn from Attorney General Maura Healey.
Adding Harbor Medical to its physician network — already 6,000 potent — volition permit Partners to heighten the prices those doctors charge. The solid soil Health Policy Commission, which tracks medical spending, has said Partners’ acquisition of Harbor Medical would permanently heighten prices past times to a greater extent than than 41 per centum a year, adding $8 meg to annual spending.
But that's non all it would do. The acquisition would also cement inwards the referrals of those doctors to PHS hospitals, which are also priced good higher upwardly average. So non exclusively would local MD visits move out to a greater extent than expensive: Follow-up secondary in addition to third attention would also.
The AG in addition to the even out missy out on a cardinal chemical constituent of this scenario, the compliance of the major insurer inwards the state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA. Had non BCBS agreed to a contract term that allowed PHS to expand its base of operations of physicians, those doctors would non receive got been able to receive got been offered higher rates inwards the start out place. They powerfulness therefore receive got chosen to move out affiliated amongst roughly other network or to receive got remained independent. (Why create I exclusively hollo BCBS? Because it is, past times far, the dominant insurer inwards the state--with to a greater extent than subscribers than all the others combined--and the other modest companies are forced to follow its Pb on such issues.) Why is at that topographic point no investigation past times the AG into BCBS contracting practices?
I wonder, too, why the AG in addition to the paper create non expand on the implications of such statements equally this.
"Harbor Medical’s principal executive, Dr. Peter A. Grape, in addition to Brigham in addition to Women’s Hospital’s president, Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, added inwards a articulation contestation that the bargain volition compass South Shore patients amend access to specialists at Brigham."
This is a prima facie admission of discrimination on the run of this Harvard pedagogy hospital: You larn amend access to us exclusively if yous are referred past times a PHS doctor.
And it is probable also an admission that the Epic EHR beingness installed past times PHS also is beingness used inwards a discriminatory fashion: You exclusively larn interoperability betwixt your local doctor's in addition to the hospital's electronic wellness tape if both entities are run of the PHS system?
It's fourth dimension for the AG to receive got PHS to describe of piece of work for continuing exploitation of its existing marketplace position power, to pursue anti-trust measures to shrink the organisation down, inwards add-on to opposing its expansion. It's fourth dimension for the AG to insist on truthful interoperability of EHRs inwards the state--on which hundreds of millions of dollars inwards government-supported investments are beingness made--to permit total pick past times patients in addition to referring physicians. It's fourth dimension for the newspaper, too, to hollo for out the inherent inconsistencies inwards the PHS statements in addition to actions: Report on the existing occupation of marketplace position power, non exclusively increments to it. A proficient start out pace would last to banking concern fit out that PHS billion dollar Epic EHR organisation in addition to come across how costly it volition last for a non-PHS physician grouping or infirmary to central patient medical records.