LeadingAge submitted comments on June 5 in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on Consolidation in Health Care Markets, issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Federal Trade Commission. The purpose of the RFI was to obtain public input regarding the goals and effects of transactions involving health care providers, including aging services, conducted by private equity funds, health systems or private payers, with an eye to identifying adverse effects of consolidation and informing policy deliberations underway within these agencies.

Our comments noted trends relating to private equity ownership, emphasized that business combinations or affiliations involving our not-for-profit and mission-driven members are motivated by a desire to ensure access to high quality care and respond to consumer preferences, and encouraged the agencies to consider and address systemic factors, such as payment adequacy, that may result in greater consolidation among providers.

The agencies did not propose specific policy actions in the RFI, but LeadingAge will continue to monitor developments relating to competition and consolidation issues in the future.