Reducing healthcare costs in Indiana starts with this bill

According to Michael Hicks, PhD, in an opinion piece published in the Daily Journal on February 7th, a proposed bill in Indiana would address the monopolisation of hospitals in the state and bring back competitive healthcare pricing. Dr. Hicks is the Miller College of Business' George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics and the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He claimed that Indiana's hospital sector is "among the most monopolised" in the country and that this has led to higher costs for typical treatments for residents of the state. For instance, the six biggest hospital systems in the state charge rates for 97% of outpatient visits that are higher than the national average. According to a recent research referenced by Dr. Hicks, hospital system mergers resulted in price increases for residents of over 20%. The six largest hospital systems in Indiana, according to Dr. Hicks, are "conglomerates" rather than hospital systems. In reality, they are a variety of conglomerates.