In December, the American Civil Liberties Union and MergerWatch Project released a report on the merger and acquisition trends of Catholic-based hospitals and health systems.
The groups said they studied the trend of sprawling Catholic healthcare organizations to gauge how it affects patient access to reproductive health services, which are normally restricted at Catholic-sponsored facilities.
Here are five statistics on Catholic hospital and health system mergers, based on the ACLU and MergerWatch report.
• Between 2001 and 2011, the number of Catholic-affiliated acute-care hospitals increased by 16 percent. Only for-profit hospitals grew faster than Catholic-based facilities.
• In 2011, 10 percent of all acute-care hospitals were Catholic.
• The number of beds in Catholic-based facilities grew by 13 percent from 2001 to 2011.
• In 2011, one out of every nine acute-care beds was at a Catholic-affiliated hospital.
• Ten of the 25 largest health systems in the United States are Catholic.
More Articles on Catholic Hospital Transactions:
California County Considers Buying 2 Daughters of Charity Hospitals
CHI Acquires Memorial Health System of East Texas
ACLU Sues Catholic Bishops Over Directives for Catholic Hospitals