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Hospital Mergers with Regulated Prices

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  • Brekke, Kurt R.

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Siciliani, Luigi

    (University of York)

  • Straume, Odd Rune

    (University of Minho)

Abstract

We study the effects of a hospital merger using a spatial competition framework with semialtruistic hospitals that invest in quality and expend cost-containment effort facing regulated prices. We find that the merging hospitals always reduce quality, whereas non-merging hospitals respond by increasing (reducing) quality if qualities are strategic substitutes (complements). A merger leads to higher average treatment cost efficiency and, if qualities are strategic substitutes, might also increase average quality in the market. If a merger leads to hospital closure, the resulting effect on quality is positive (negative) for all hospitals in the market if qualities are strategic substitutes (complements). Whether qualities are strategic substitutes or complements depends on the degree of altruism, the effectiveness of cost-containment effort, and the degree of cost substitutability between quality and treatment volume.

Suggested Citation

  • Brekke, Kurt R. & Siciliani, Luigi & Straume, Odd Rune, 2014. "Hospital Mergers with Regulated Prices," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 21/2014, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2014_021
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    3. Laura Levaggi & Rosella Levaggi, 2024. "Spatial Competition Models in Health Care Markets: A Review," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 65(3), pages 721-743, November.
    4. Johann Han & Nadja Kairies-Schwarz & Markus Vomhof, 2024. "Strategic behaviour and decision making in competitive hospital markets: an experimental investigation," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 333-355, September.
    5. Guccio, C. & Lisi, D. & Martorana, M.F. & Pignataro, G., 2020. "Incorporating quality in the efficiency assessment of hospitals using a generalized directional distance function approach," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 20/17, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Johann Han & Nadja Kairies‐Schwarz & Markus Vomhof, 2017. "Quality competition and hospital mergers—An experiment," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(S3), pages 36-51, December.
    7. Brekke, Kurt R. & Siciliani, Luigi & Straume, Odd Rune, 2024. "Competition, quality and integrated health care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Han, Johann & Kairies-Schwarz, Nadja & Vomhof, Markus, 2020. "Quality provision in competitive health care markets: Individuals vs. teams," Ruhr Economic Papers 839, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    9. Kurt R. Brekke & Luigi Siciliani & Odd Rune Straume, 2017. "Horizontal mergers and product quality," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1063-1103, November.
    10. Daniel Herrera-Araujo & Lise Rochaix, 2020. "Competition between Public and Private Maternity Care Providers in France: Evidence on Market Segmentation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Laurie Rachet-Jacquet & Nils Gutacker & Luigi Siciliani, 2019. "The causal effect of hospital volume on health gains from hip replacement surgery," Working Papers 168cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    12. Rachet-Jacquet, Laurie & Gutacker, Nils & Siciliani, Luigi, 2021. "Scale economies in the health sector: The effect of hospital volume on health gains from hip replacement surgery," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 704-729.
    13. Francesco Longo & Luigi Siciliani & Hugh Gravelle & Rita Santos, 2017. "Do hospitals respond to rivals' quality and efficiency? A spatial panel econometric analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(S2), pages 38-62, September.
    14. Bisceglia, Michele & Padilla, Jorge & Piccolo, Salvatore & Sääskilahti, Pekka, 2023. "On the bright side of market concentration in a mixed-oligopoly healthcare industry," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    15. Vanessa Cirulli & Giorgia Marini & Marco A. Marini & Odd Rune Straume, 2023. "Do hospital mergers reduce waiting times? Theory and evidence from the english NHS," NIPE Working Papers 07/2023, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    16. Houyuan Jiang & Zhan Pang & Sergei Savin, 2020. "Performance Incentives and Competition in Health Care Markets," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(5), pages 1145-1164, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hospital mergers; Quality competition; Cost efficiency; Antitrust.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L44 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Antitrust Policy and Public Enterprise, Nonprofit Institutions, and Professional Organizations

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