Hospital monopolies drive up U.S. healthcare costs

Data from the startup Serif Health reveals that hospital mergers and lack of competition are driving up healthcare costs across the United States. By analyzing price disclosure data required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services since 2021, researchers have identified significant price disparities for identical procedures.

In North Carolina, a knee replacement procedure at Catawba Valley Medical Center cost approximately $16,000 under a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, while Mission Hospital in Asheville charged roughly $40,000 for the same procedure under the same plan. Mission Hospital’s higher pricing is attributed to its position following a merger that left it with little local competition.

Similar trends appear in other regions. In Florida, Holmes Regional Medical Center, part of the Health First system, charged Cigna twice as much for knee replacements as a hospital located two hours north. In Colorado, Banner North Colorado Medical Center charged a UnitedHealthcare patient $20,000 more for the surgery than a nearby facility. These increased hospital costs often result in higher insurance premiums for all consumers.