HOSPITALS ACQUIRING DOCTORS' PRACTICES - MORE COSTS TO PATIENTS

The Boston Globe (10/20, Boodman) reports the study, conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, “found that when small doctors’ practices join large hospitals, their patients pay an average of $75 more every year for outpatient services like check-ups.” The article adds that the “steady march of doctors into hospitals could continue thanks to the Affordable Care Act,” which “encouraged the integration of different parts of the health care system in the hope that it will reduce costs.”