Consolidation Trend: Corporate Giants Acquiring Primary Care Practices Quickly.

Multibillion-dollar corporations, particularly giant health insurers, are buying up primary care practices due to the vast numbers of patients they oversee, who bring business and profits to a hospital system, a health insurer, or a pharmacy outfit eyeing expansion. The growing privatization of Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older Americans, means that more than half its 60 million beneficiaries have signed up for policies with private insurers under the Medicare Advantage program. However, experts warn the consolidation will lead to higher prices and systems driven by the quest for profits, not patients’ welfare.