Mergers and acquisitions continue to be a hot topic in the healthcare industry as M&A activity rises and the government flexes its regulatory muscle, but amid all the developments it's important to note that not all mergers are created equal.
A "good" merger is one that allows providers to increase healthcare value to the benefit of the community, whereas a "bad" merger is the type that regulators have increasingly sought to prevent or dismantle--one that discourages competition, write Leemore S. Dafney, Ph.D., and Thomas H. Lee, M.D., in an opinion piece for the New England Journal of Medicine.
But while good mergers can help the healthcare industry transition to value-based care by allowing providers to pursue collaborative care models, providers have shown little to no hard evidence that their mergers have actually lowered costs or improved outcomes, the authors say. >> Read the full article at FierceHealthcare