The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to a Request for Information (RFI) concerning the consolidation of healthcare markets.
In its comments, the SVS highlights how the consolidation trend in healthcare exacerbates barriers to patient access, especially for those with vascular diseases. The comments stress that mergers and acquisitions within hospital systems often lead to increased prices and reduced service availability, impacting patient care.
SVS Advocacy Council Chair Margaret Tracci, MD, JD, emphasized the urgency of these concerns, stating, “Our primary concern is ensuring that patients have access to high-quality care. The consolidation in healthcare markets creates significant challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations, by driving up costs and reducing service availability.”
The comments outline several critical concerns regarding the impact of healthcare consolidation. The SVS argues that consolidation often results in higher costs for patients and payors, which can limit access to necessary medical services, particularly for older patients with vascular diseases who are frailer and more reliant on Medicare or Medicaid.
Consolidation threatens the viability of independent or private practices, where many innovative, minimally invasive vascular disease treatments occur in more accessible and cost-effective outpatient settings such as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) or office-based labs (OBLs). Tracci pointed out, “The reduction of these accessible and cost-effective service sites due to consolidation is a step backward for patient care.”
The SVS also highlights the role of private equity in driving consolidation. Tracci noted that the influence of private equity in healthcare tends to prioritize financial returns over patient outcomes, thereby compromising the quality and accessibility of care.
The comments note that large healthcare systems may reduce the range of clinical services at various locations based on profitability. The SVS calls for careful consideration of these issues in the administration’s policy development and enforcement actions, and urges any actions to address the negative impacts of consolidation on patients and providers.
The SVS will now await the relevant agencies—including the FTC, DOJ and HHS—to review the feedback and inform their policymaking process. The agencies may use these insights to draft proposals, typically publishing them to solicit further public comments.
“We look forward to collaborating with the FTC, DOJ and HHS to ensure policies that support high-quality care and accessible healthcare services for all patients,” said Tracci.
