Consolidation Trend: Corporate Giants Acquiring Primary Care Practices Quickly.

Multibillion-dollar corporations, particularly giant health insurers, are buying up primary care practices due to the growing privatization of Medicare, which means that more than half its 60 million beneficiaries have signed up for policies with private insurers under the Medicare Advantage program. Despite their lowly status, primary care doctors oversee vast numbers of patients, who bring business and profits to a hospital system, a health insurer or a pharmacy outfit eyeing expansion. However, experts warn the consolidation will lead to higher prices and systems driven by the quest for profits, not patients’ welfare.