Oregon's hospitals are highly consolidated, report shows
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Oregon's health care system is heavily consolidated among just a few hospital systems, a dynamic that has raised concern among critics and state lawmakers in the past.
Why it matters: As rising health care costs put more financial strain on Americans, "one major and underappreciated factor driving price increases is rising consolidation among U.S. hospitals," according to Yale's new Health Care Affordability Lab.
By the numbers: Roughly 72% of the Oregon's 60-plus hospitals analyzed in the Yale study are concentrated in ownership or represent a monopoly in certain markets.
- Between 2005 and 2025, six mergers in Oregon significantly reduced competition in the marketplace, the study found.
Flashback: Last spring, Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Health called off plans to merge the two healthcare systems — which was poised to be the state's biggest.
- The deal faced fierce public opposition and a unanimous recommendation from a regulatory review board calling on the state to reject it.
Plus: State lawmakers moved to curb corporate influence in health care in 2025 by passing a bill that places some of the nation's strictest limits on private and corporate control of medical practices.
The big picture: Hospitals accounted for 40% of the growth in national health spending between 2022 and 2024 — a much larger share than any other health spending category, per a recent KFF analysis.
- Since 2000, about 1,300 mergers have taken place among the nation's approximately 5,000 hospitals.
- The Federal Trade Commission has taken action on competition concerns in 13 of the deals.