Thanks to Chairman Herger for calling this hearing. Consolidation in the health care sector is an important and multifaceted subject. While it is hard to take on a topic of this breadth with a single panel on a Friday morning, maybe this is an area where we can work together on a bipartisan basis to fashion more targeted hearings in the future.
Consolidation of the health insurance marketplace raises interesting questions and concerns. What is the effect of health insurance consolidation on premiums? Does provider consolidation help to improve clinical integration of care? How is that balanced against the desire to not create provider behemoths that can be virtual price setters? The issue of pharmaceutical benefit manager consolidation is also timely. And, there are growing examples of new mergers - like United Health Care’s recent purchase of Monarch, a major physician group in Southern California -- that also warrant review.
I think what we’ll hear from our witnesses today is a mixed story. There are certainly positive components to consolidation: it can increase efficiency, improve quality, and eliminate waste. Consolidation may indeed be a core strategy in achieving our shared goal of increased integration and coordination of health care. After all, many of the health care delivery systems that are lauded by Members on both sides of the aisle for their efficiency and quality of care are ones that are highly integrated and consolidated.
However, we must also recognize that consolidation can lead to market imbalances where particular players can demand prices and thereby escalate costs. Therefore, as we test and pursue reforms of our health care delivery system, those efforts must be balanced by a strong regulatory role to ensure that consumer interests are protected.
We all know the common perceptions about each party -- Republicans are seen as the party that defends the marketplace and the power of competition, and opposes regulation, while Democrats are perceived as the party that puts regulation ahead of competition. But perhaps we are seeing today that those perceptions can be wrong. It is refreshing to see our Majority raise concerns about competition in the marketplace and how it may result in outcomes that are bad for consumers and for Medicare. As we work to develop a more integrated, outcomes-focused health care delivery system, this issue of consolidation will be ongoing. It is certainly important that we keep a close eye on it and I applaud my Republican colleagues for agreeing that this is an appropriate role for our government.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and learning more about this topic.
