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Presenter: Kelechi Kristine Ezemma

Faculty Sponsor: Brenda K. Bushouse

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Public Policy

Session: Poster Session 1, 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM, Auditorium, A54

ABSTRACT

In Massachusetts, hospital consolidation has reshaped the state’s healthcare landscape through mergers and acquisitions. Many patients feel the effects of hospital closures and mergers at the hospital systems they frequent. While proponents argue that consolidation can improve efficiency and care coordination, evidence suggests that it may increase patient costs, alter access, and have mixed effects on the quality of care. In this study, the independent variables are hospital system size (small, medium, or large) and geography (western or non-western Massachusetts). The dependent variables are cost (average cost of common procedures per system), quality (system-level average CMS star rating), and access (percentage of MassHealth discharges per system). Through qualitative surveys, the stakeholders’ responses help to contextualize the quantitative analysis. By pairing the respondents' reported experiences with their corresponding quantitative measures, the associations found between system characteristics and patient outcomes will provide a foundation for descriptive analysis. Findings may suggest that patients in less consolidated systems experience higher quality of care and lower costs, but with reduced access to services. The results of the study aim to advance the understanding of hospital consolidation's effects and provide evidence for policymakers, economists, and industry researchers in evaluating the implications of hospital acquisitions in Massachusetts.