HCFO-Funded Study Featured in New York Times Article on Budget Deal

Congress recently approved a budget agreement that includes a provision to change how Medicare reimburses physicians owned by hospitals—in part a response to the recent increasing trend in physician-hospital integration. The New York Times Upshot [1] reports that the budget deal would prevent future physician practices from receiving higher payments by merging with a hospital. The piece features findings from a recent JAMA Internal Medicine [2] article from HCFO grantee J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, that found physician-hospital integration is associated with higher prices and spending for outpatient care. In his HCFO-funded study [3], McWilliams is examining the impact of physician concentration, physician-hospital integration, and accountable care organizations on prices paid for physician services.