American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack outlined a strong distinction between the mergers taking place in the hospital and health system industry and the consolidation proposed in the health insurance industry.
"For hospitals and health systems, realigning and transforming care means working closely with other providers to make sure that patients and communities have convenient access to health care," Mr. Pollack told the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Thursday.
Despite the regulatory barriers stunting the pace of innovation, Mr. Pollack said hospitals are still making progress as they aim to provide patients with high-quality, well-coordinated care and reduce costs.
In contrast, the recent "mega-merger" deals involving four of the five largest commercial health insurers "would leave consumers with fewer — and no doubt — more expensive options for coverage" and "diminish the insurers' willingness to be innovative partners with providers and consumers to transform healthcare," Mr. Pollack said.
He urged Congress and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division to diligently scrutinize the proposed deals, in which Anthem would acquire Cigna and Aetna would acquire Humana.