Across California, independent physician practices, outpatient clinics and hospitals are merging or getting gobbled up by private equity firms or large healthcare systems. Now that COVID-19 has slammed the healthcare industry, especially the small practices that are barely seeing patients, the healthcare consolidation trend is likely to accelerate. “I don’t see anything that’s going to stop this wave of consolidations amongst docs,” said Glenn Melnick, a healthcare economist at USC. “If this thing goes on a long time,” he said of the coronavirus, “then it becomes a tsunami.” California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has made battling healthcare consolidation a signature issue since he took office in 2017. With the additional pressure that COVID-19 is putting on vulnerable practices and facilities, Becerra is now pressing the state Legislature to expand his authority to slow healthcare mergers.
Read the full article: California Seeks More Power to Fight Healthcare Mergers //
Source: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-06-01/california-seeks-more-power-to-fight-healthcare-mergers