One of the trade publications I regularly read always has a section featuring Workers Compensation.

While hardly my forte, this headline caught my eye; 

“Horizontal Deals Put Pressure on Comp Sector.” 

Oh, this’ll be good! I had to read on. 

“A client noticed medical costs rose dramatically when one [regional] hospital system was acquired by a national health care system. So literally, in the same hospital with the same doctors, the prices have gone up maybe 25%.”

Then this;

“Hospital mergers often increase the likelihood of intensive surgery and the total number of surgeries for WC, while failing to improve outcomes.” (Business Insurance, Feb ’24)

Accompanying this breathtaking display of investigative reporting (COUGH), was another article on how “vertical integration” (e.g., hospitals acquiring physician practices) has a similar “link” to cost increases.

I can only assume the author hails from Sleepy Hollow!! (Coincidentally, just down the road from Dogpatch.)