The Physician Advocacy Institute has issued a letter to federal officials warning that consolidation is negatively affecting healthcare quality and affordability in the U.S.
In a May 29 letter to the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and HHS, the institute called on the administration to protect patients and physicians from corporate entities' "anti-competitive" practices.
The institute is calling on Congress and the Biden administration to increase regulatory oversight of practice acquisitions and corporate ownership, protect practices from the threat of financial insolvency, reduce what it calls anti-competitive business practices and reform payment policies that it says drive consolidation, according to a June 5 news release shared with Becker's.
The institute and its physicians said they are concerned that federal policies are putting pressure on independent physicians and small practices, forcing them to consolidate or close.
Medicare reporting requirements and decreasing physician reimbursements are also making the market challenging for independent practitioners.
According to research commissioned by the institute, hospitals and health systems employed 26% of physicians and owned 14% of physician practices in 2012, but as of 2024, hospitals, health systems and other corporate entities employ nearly 80% of physicians and own nearly 60% of physician practices.