"Hospitals are using market clout to negotiate higher-than-competitive prices with insurers, which causes price variation that is inconsistent with what is found in other industries within competitive markets, Becker's Hospital Review reports," writes FierceHealthPayer Editor Dina Overland. "New research by the Center for Studying Health System Change found the rates that hospitals charge private insurers varied widely, both between different cities and also often within the same market. The study attributed high prices largely to hospital market concentration, though it noted that some hospitals win generous rates largely because prestige makes them 'must-have' providers, according to the Wall Street Journal." --Read the full article at FierceHealthPayer