Fostering Competition in Consolidated Markets

Editor’s note: Paul Ginsburg gave expert testimony before the California Senate Committee on Health about fostering competition in consolidated markets on March 16, 2016. 

In his testimony, Paul Ginsburg focused on the implications and complexities of the consolidation trend  in healthcare markets. Ginsburg focused predominately on provider competition and examined broadening anti-trust policy, policies to foster market forces, and direct regulation of prices. The key points of his testimony include:

  1. Health care markets are becoming more consolidated, causing price increases for purchasers of health services. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future despite anti-trust enforcement;
  2. Government can still play an effective role in addressing higher prices that come from consolidation by pursuing policies that foster increased competition in healthcare markets. Many of these policies can be effective even in markets with high degrees of concentration, such as in Northern California.

Download his full testimony here.

Download his presentation here.