Nation’s Largest Not-for-profit Healthcare Provider to Become Insurer
Ascension Health operates and owns 101 hospitals. Based in St. Louis, it’s the nation’s biggest not-for-profit healthcare provider, and according to Modern Health, it’s considering a “major insurance play,” hoping to “acquire an unnamed insurance company that operates in 18 states.” Modern Health goes on to describe the move as a “significant escalation in the brewing shift among hospital operators toward the business of selling health plans.”
The “hospital systems as insurers” trend is one we’ve been watching for a while, not only as an important industry development but for the impact it has on marketing. As Modern Health points out, several other large hospital systems are already participants in the health insurance market, including Catholic Health Initiatives, a large healthcare provider with 89 hospitals, which is poised to “enter the marketplace as early as next year.”
The trend came about, in part, due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which places more accountability for patient health on providers. Since providers are facing more of the fiscal burden anyway, some are deciding to offer the health plans themselves.
It will be interesting to see how this all continues to unfold and what impact it will have on providers, payers and, of course, consumers. Will they see it as a conflict of interest or a great solution for getting the best value for their healthcare dollars?
