Hospitals snapped up 31,000 physician practices between 2012 and 2015 alone, causing the number of physician practices owned by hospitals to jump 86 percent, according to a study from Avalere Health. By mid-2015, one in four practices was hospital-owned, according to the report.
On top of that, nearly 40 percent of the nation's physicians, or 140,000 providers, were hospital-employed, the study found. This marks a nearly 50 percent increase in employment since 2012, when 95,000 physicians were employed across the country.
This growth in employment and hospital ownership was noted across the country from 2012-15. Here is how each region stacks up.
Northeast
Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 58 percent
Growth in hospital-owned practices: 106 percent
Midwest
Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 44 percent
Growth in hospital-owned practices: 72 percent
South
Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 59 percent
Growth in hospital-owned practices: 98 percent
West
Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 33 percent
Growth in hospital-owned practices: 82 percent
Alaska and Hawaii
Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 49 percent
Growth in hospital-owned practices: 118 percent
This study was published by the Physicians Advocacy Institute, which is a nonprofit advocacy group aimed at promoting fair and transparent payment policies for physicians. Avalere used a database from SK&A in combination with data from CMS. Read the full study here.
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