Study: Physician Consolidation Drives Up Comp Costs

Vertical integration in medicine is driving up patient care pricing in workers' compensation, and provider consolidation is not necessarily translating to improvements in patient outcomes, according to research from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.    The study released Thursday, "Impact of Medical Provider Consolidation on Workers’ Compensation Payments," examined the impact of provider vertical integration on comp payments, showing how doctor costs changed after medical practices were acquired by hospitals and health systems. The study shows t...