Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Bigger Is Better' Consolidation Mentality Sweeps Through Health Care Industry
Consolidation in the health system and health insurance industries has been a focus for years. But a new report sheds light on how the "bigger is better" mantra has taken hold in companies that make syringes, X-ray machines or other healthcare products. The report, prepared by the Open Markets Institute using data from IBISWorld, shows a small handful of companies dominate their respective markets in certain healthcare sectors that tend to get less of a spotlight than their payer and provider counterparts. The largest three pharmacy and drugstore companies represent 67% of market share and the largest two ambulance manufacturers represent 83% of market share. Just two dialysis providers dominate 76% of market share. (Bannow, 6/10)
Two Democratic state attorneys general have launched an investigation into a massive data breach at American Medical Collection Agency, a company that provides billing collection services to healthcare organizations. LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics last week said that the data breach affected nearly 8 million and 12 million of their patients, respectively. AMCA provides services to LabCorp and one of Quest's revenue-cycle contractors, Optum360. (Cohen, 6/10)