No. Studies show that hospital acquisition of physician practices increased prices for the same services, by the same practices, by 14%-15%. Though one study found two to four times greater prices at hospital-owned sites, it did not investigate causality between acquisition and chang es in particular physicians’ service prices.  Through competition reduction, consolidation – such as physician practice acquisition – leads to higher prices without necessarily improving quality. Service prices of physicians previously integrated with acquiring hospitals increased 9% despite no changes other than the acquisition of physicians in their specialty.  Acquisitions have been on the rise. From 2008 to 2016, the share of hospital-employed physicians nearly doubled to 47.2%. As of 2023, hospitals, health systems, and corporations employ 77.6% of physicians and own 58.5% of practices.  Almost half of metropolitan areas’ inpatient care markets were controlled by one or two health systems in 2024. This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one. Oklahoma Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Sources National Library of Medicine The effect of hospital acquisitions of physician practices on prices and spendingNational Bureau of Economic Research Hospital Acquisitions of Physician Practices Generate Price Increases Without Evidence of Quality ImprovementsACTUARIAL RESEARCH CORPORATION Without Site Neutrality, the Differential in HOPD and Office Medicare Payments is Growing Faster than Medical InflationKFF One or Two Health Systems Controlled the Entire Market for Inpatient Hospital Care in Nearly Half of Metropolitan Areas in 2024Physicians Advocacy Institute PAI-Avalere Report on Physician Employment Trends and Acquisitions of Medical Practices: 2019-2023 The post Do prices for identical services by the same doctor increase by up to four times when hospitals acquire physicians’ offices, as Rep. Kevin Hern claimed? appeared first on Oklahoma Watch. ...read more read less