#371 Who Does Your Doctor Work For? Vertical Integration in the Healthcare Provider Market

Hospitals, as well as insurers, have been increasingly purchasing physicians practices, home health providers, and nursing facilities. But what are the competitive implications of these acquisitions? Dr. Zack Cooper, economist and public health expert at Yale University, joins Derek Jackson and Anora Wang to discuss both the theoretical and empirical competitive harms and benefits to vertical integration in the healthcare provider market. Listen to this episode to learn more about the changing competitive landscape in this large and important sector of the economy.

With special guest: Zack Cooper, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health and Associate Professor of Economics, Yale University Related Links:

• Are Hospital Acquisitions of Physician Practices Anticompetitive? by Cooper et al., July 2025
• Zack Cooper's Congressional Testimony, Fighting Obamacare Subsidy Fraud: Is the Administrative Procedure Act Working as Intended?, December 10, 2025
• Zack Cooper's Senate Testimony, Consolidation and Corporate Ownership in Health Care: Trends and Impacts on Access, Quality, and Costs, June 8, 2023

Hosted by: Derek Jackson, Cohen & Gresser and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter