That doesn't really work as a strategy unless UHI cornered the insurance market within a given region, otherwise they'd lose business to competing hospitals.
Welcome to the Certificate of Need. A legal requirement in most states for creating a new healthcare facility. Ostensibly to make sure that the population in that area has adequate healthcare options. But lobbied for by healthcare facility and hospital owners, it actually surveys other providers (your competitors) in the area and asks if their revenue would be adversely affected by you opening up. Too much of this (i.e. "we're worried that a hospital might reduce coverage or shutdown if there's too much risk to their profit"), and no CoN for you.
And this is to say nothing of Pharma Benefits Management. Steering you towards their own more expensive pharmacy (which isn't profit-capped). Mine does it by saying "you want a more convenient >30 day prescription? Only through our wholly owned mail-order subsidiary". 30 day scripts at your local pharmacy. 90 day for the same med? Denied.
which might be true, but if that were the case, you'd expect them to raise prices anyways. They're profit maximizing companies after all, not operating out of altruism.
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Welcome to the Certificate of Need. A legal requirement in most states for creating a new healthcare facility. Ostensibly to make sure that the population in that area has adequate healthcare options. But lobbied for by healthcare facility and hospital owners, it actually surveys other providers (your competitors) in the area and asks if their revenue would be adversely affected by you opening up. Too much of this (i.e. "we're worried that a hospital might reduce coverage or shutdown if there's too much risk to their profit"), and no CoN for you.
And this is to say nothing of Pharma Benefits Management. Steering you towards their own more expensive pharmacy (which isn't profit-capped). Mine does it by saying "you want a more convenient >30 day prescription? Only through our wholly owned mail-order subsidiary". 30 day scripts at your local pharmacy. 90 day for the same med? Denied.