Ridiculous Study of the Week: Consolidating Hospitals
In a brave move that eschews all sense of impartiality, the American Hospital Association used a SELF-FUNDED report which concluded that hospital mergers are beneficial and don’t lead to higher prices. The report, interestingly enough, was based primarily on survey data ALSO provided by the AHA. Lastly, “hospital leaders consistently indicated in interviews that hospital mergers can result in substantial benefits, and their views are supported by our econometric analyses,”
See, what was anyone worried about? By forming monopolies these massive hospital systems don’t squash competition. No, they save money and it all can be found at the end of the rainbow where leprechauns are waiting to hand it out. If we just let the hospital administrators take control, then we will be all winners!
This just in: Whales report benefits accruing to krill!
I read as much as I could stand of the report. It shows that statistically, “hospital leaders” are likely to favor consolidation. Some data is sprinkled in there to support this piece of puffery.
What is a hospital leader? Clearly not a doctor who sees patients. It is a healthcare administration executive or bureaucratic cog wedged into the contraption, who sees that all of the important stuff can be done in the hospital, once you get rid of the dead weight (patients and doctors.)
That goes along with the plan to spend less money on healthcare – and then bemoan our awful healthcare and demand that it needs far-reaching reform. That’s been the New Idea for 20 years now.
It’s the kind of forward thinking that brought American Motors and Chrysler to becoming the leviathans of the Midwest today. Big corporate machines! Top-down control! Abandoned factories! Let’s do for American Healthcare what we did for the Big Four Automakers (Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler and American Motors!) Hooyah! Make medical care look as much like Big Corporate Manufacturing as we can!