Hospitals owned just over a quarter of U.S. physician practices by January 2021, according to a June 29 report from Avalere.
The number of hospital acquisitions of private practices jumped 8 percent from 2019 to 2021, and there was a 3.7 percent increase in hospital-owned physician practices after the pandemic began. The report authors estimated that hospitals acquired 18,600 physicians in the past two years, with more than half occurring since the onset of COVID-19.
Here is the regional breakdown of the increase in physician employment and hospital-owned practices from 2019 to the end of 2020.
Northeast
Physician employment: up 8.1 percent
Hospital owned practices: up 10.7 percent
Overall physicians employed by hospitals: about 49 percent
South
Physician employment: up 5.4 percent
Hospital owned practices: up 6.9 percent
Overall physicians employed by hospitals: about 43 percent
Midwest
Physician employment: up 5.2 percent
Hospital owned practices: up 9 percent
Overall physicians employed by hospitals: about 61 percent
West
Physician employment: up 2.4 percent
Hospital owned practices: up 5.5 percent
Overall physicians employed by hospitals: about 47 percent