Utah's health care providers are heavily consolidated among a few hospital systems — a dynamic associated with rising costs, according to an analysis from Yale's new Health Care Affordability Lab.

Why it matters: A federal report last year found hospital mergers drove price hikes for care — 6% to 65% — and costs "increase significantly for neighboring hospitals as well."

• Consolidation also tends to sweep in physician practices, pushing up the costs of doctor visits, too, per a separate 2025 federal analysis.

Zoom in: 61.7% of the state's 47 hospitals analyzed in the Yale study are concentrated in ownership or represent a monopoly in certain markets.

Zoom out: Further consolidation could bring Utah's health care market closer to the monopolies in neighboring states.

• All hospitals in Wyoming are in concentrated markets, compared with 98% in Montana and 86% in Idaho.
• In Colorado, where markets are more concentrated than in Utah, lawmakers have repeatedly advanced bills to allow state intervention in health care monopolies — but those have failed.

How it works: Yale's analysis defines markets based on a 30-minute travel time to determine whether patients have a reasonable choice between facilities.

State of play: In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission blocked HCA Healthcare's acquisition of five Steward hospitals along the Wasatch Front, citing the harm of reduced competition.

• The same year, Intermountain Health merged with Colorado-based SCL Health — but SCL didn't have locations in Utah.

The other side: The most concentrated states also have large rural populations, which can make supporting more than one hospital in a community difficult.

The big picture: In the past 20 years, there have been around 1,300 mergers among the nation's approximately 5,000 hospitals. The Federal Trade Commission has taken action on competition concerns against only 13 of the deals.

• 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.

Pass it on

🏈 Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) has introduced a bill to ban prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket from offering sports bets. (Wall Street Journal)

• Meanwhile, Utah lawmakers passed a statewide ban on proposition betting that is waiting on Gov. Spencer Cox's desk.

🫟 Grand County sheriff's deputies suspect an off-road racing team of vandalizing ancient petroglyphs near Moab. (via Facebook)

🏀 USU men's basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun is leaving Logan for his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. (CBS Sports)

🥤 Utah's dirty soda craze is filling more shelves with Mountain Dew launching "Dirty Dew" on April 6. (via X)

A beloved Japanese ramen shop has teamed up with a Salt Lake restaurant to offer a Utah version of the noodles that put its hometown on the foodie map.

How it works: Yamato, a popular restaurant in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, worked with UT Craft Ramen to prepare a special pop-up menu this weekend for Utahns to try the firm, curly noodles unique to the city of Sano.

• Tickets for 1-hour timeslots are limited.

My thought bubble: UT Craft Ramen, which opened last year at 7662 Union Park Ave., on the Midvale-Sandy border, is among the more joyous restaurants I've been to lately.

• While the (deservedly) renowned Ramen Ichizu at Central 9th is almost austere in its culinary seriousness, UT Craft Ramen has a party vibe.
• From its neon-lit front shop of Japanese snacks and toys to the high-energy waitstaff and canned jelly shots on the bar menu, you don't have to feel guilty for lingering over your bowl.

Zoom in: Get the steamed "UT Buns" while you're there this Friday-Sunday for a bite of state pride.

Tell a noodle fiend