Abstract
Has the nature of hospital competition changed from a medical arms race in which hospitals compete for patients by offering their doctors high quality services to a price war for the patients of payors? This paper uses time-series cross-sectional methods on California hospital discharge data from 1986-1994 to show the association of hospital prices with measures of market concentration changed steadily over this period, with prices now higher in less competitive areas, even for non-profit hospitals. Regression results are used to simulate the price impact of hypothetical hospital mergers.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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California
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Catchment Area, Health / economics
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Catchment Area, Health / statistics & numerical data
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Diagnosis-Related Groups
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Economic Competition / trends*
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Health Care Sector / statistics & numerical data
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Health Care Sector / trends*
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Health Facility Merger / economics*
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Health Services Research / methods
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Hospital Charges / statistics & numerical data
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Hospital Charges / trends*
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Hospitalization / economics
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Hospitals, Proprietary / economics*
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Hospitals, Public / economics
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Hospitals, Voluntary / economics*
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Medicaid
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Medicare
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Ownership / economics
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Regression Analysis
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United States