On May 19, 2021, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Competition
Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights convened a hearing to
discuss hospital consolidation. The hearing resulted in broad agreement in support
increasing competition in the healthcare market while prioritizing
patient care and outcomes, particularly in rural communities. There
was significant disagreement, however, about the best legislative
approaches for doing so.
In their opening remarks, Democratic Senator Klobuchar and
Republican Senator Lee each emphasized the importance of centering
quality of care in any discussions regarding hospital
consolidation, noting the numerous instances where mergers have led
to increased prices without any demonstrable increase in quality of
care or in favorable patient outcomes. Senator Klobuchar noted that
there have been approximately 1,600 hospital mergers in the U.S. in
the past 20 years, that 90% of all metropolitan areas have
"highly concentrated" hospital
