Competing Diagnoses: Recent Episodes
Bob Hackey
Does the ongoing debate over health care reform leave you perplexed? Are you wondering what the future holds for health care in Rhode Island, or what the recent policy changes mean for you?
Our podcast is a collaboration between faculty and students in the Health Policy and Management department at Providence College. Each episode provides a fresh perspective on emerging health policy controversies in Rhode Island.
Competing Diagnoses | Episode 3 | July 30, 2021: What Will Washington Do?
Welcome back to Competing Diagnoses! This week, we'll explore the larger regulatory context of the proposed merger between the state's two largest hospital systems - Lifespan and Care New England. Recent actions by the Biden administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggest that a new academic health system here in Rhode Island will face significant regulatory obstacles. Federal officials are increasingly skeptical of proposals that would reduce competition in local health care markets. Less competition, the FTC argues, is likely to raise prices and lower incentives to improve the quality of care. We'll look at recent cases in New Jersey and Tennessee to gather lessons for Rhode Island and also examine the impact of President Biden's executive order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy on the prospects for winning federal approval of the proposed transaction.
Thanks for listening!
The Competing Diagnoses team: Robert Hackey, PhD
The theme song for our podcast - 'Waves' - is an original composition by Craig Scheuring.
Competing Diagnoses | Episode 2 | May 17, 2021: Competition in Health Care Markets
Welcome to Competing Diagnoses! This week, we introduce listeners to the economics of hospital mergers. The proposed merger between Rhode Island’s two largest hospital systems - Lifespan and Care New England – will profoundly change the health care market in the nation’s smallest state. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, hundreds of hospitals have merged around the nation. As David Cutler and Fiona Scott Morton noted in a 2013 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, ‘policy makers both revere and revile these health systems.’ Will a merger between the state’s two largest hospital systems increase access to care and improve quality? Raise prices? Or both? To shed some light on this debate, we welcome James Bailey, an assistant professor of economics at Providence College, to introduce listeners to how health economists think about hospital mergers.
Thanks for listening!
The Competing Diagnoses team: Robert Hackey, PhD, Talia Quinn '22, Lily Sanphy '22, and Julia Scheuring '21.
The theme song for our podcast - 'Waves' - is an original composition by Craig Scheuring.
Competing Diagnoses | Episode 1 | May 3, 2021: To Merge or Not to Merge
Welcome to Competing Diagnoses! Our podcast provides listeners with a fresh take on current health policy issues here in Rhode Island. Each episode features critical conversations about health politics and policy informed by published research and interviews with policymakers, providers, payers, and scholars. Although we won’t take sides, each episode will take a nonpartisan and evidence-based approach to educate listeners about health policy issues that affect all Rhode Islanders. We'll offer listeners competing diagnoses of the health policy challenges we face and how to address them from a diverse set of viewpoints.
Over the next several weeks, we'll dig into the proposed merger between Rhode Island's two largest hospital systems – Lifespan and Care New England. This proposed merger, which was first announced last September, is one of the most significant developments in the Rhode Island health care system in decades. Lifespan president and CEO Dr. Timothy Babineau hailed the proposal to create an integrated academic health care system in RI. He argued “there are no losers here. There are only winners.” Former Governor Gina Raimondo echoed this sentiment, declaring that “There is no question that a local, integrated health care system is in the best interests of Rhode Islanders.” Earlier this week, Lifespan and Care New England filed their merger application with the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office.
In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the evidence for and against these claims. In particular, we’ll dive into the long courtship between these two systems, examine arguments for and against consolidation in local hospital markets, and explore key issues that policymakers need to consider as they review the proposed merger. We’ll also introduce you to the regulatory environment here in Rhode Island by focusing on the review process created by the Hospital Conversion Act and the role of the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner. Finally, we’ll consider how officials at the Federal Trade Commission may view the proposed merger.
Thanks for listening!
The Competing Diagnoses team: Robert Hackey, PhD, Talia Quinn '22, Lily Sanphy '22, and Julia Scheuring '21.
The theme song for our podcast - 'Waves' - is an original composition by Craig Scheuring.