title: Trends toward a national health care marketplace.
abstract: In recent years, the health care industry has experienced considerable growth in organizations that are national in focus-organizations that operate in multiple markets not all clustered in one geographic region. This study summarizes information on trends in ownership of various types of health care organizations (i.e., HMOs, PPOs, hospitals, physician practices) for purposes of assessing the growth rate of national companies and the overall significance of this phenomenon. This is followed by a synthesis of factors that encourage or impede the growth of national managed care companies, the sector that has exhibited the most pronounced growth of national companies. We discuss likely future directions and the degree to which national companies may enjoy long-term competitive advantages.
authors.affiliation: Center for Studying Health System Change, Washington, DC 20024-2512, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Corrigan
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Eden
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Pickreign
mesh_terms: D004465:Economic Competition / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006302:Health Services Research; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D010067:Ownership / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011243:Preferred Provider Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States