MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A new report from Vermont’s auditor shows hospital consolidation is helping drive up health care costs at an unsustainable rate.

The report shows says if our health care spending was on par with the rest of the nation in 2018, Vermont would have saved a billion dollars.

State Auditor Doug Hoffer says the biggest factor driving up costs is provider consolidation. In 2011, 53% of physicians ran independent practices. In 2018, more than 80% worked for a hospital like the UVM Medical Center.

“Unfortunately, in theory for any large entity in any given industry, not just health care, to vertically integrate has the potential both from economies of scale and scope to reduce inefficiencies and reduce cost. That’s not how it works in a market where there’s a monopoly or a near-monopoly,” said Hoffer, D-Vt. Auditor.

Hoffer also says that regulators need to take more action to reduce health care costs and avoid hospital consolidation.

Click here to read the report.

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