Big Medicine: Implications of Vertical Integration for Patients, Providers, and Employers

The Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms is excited to invite you to our upcoming policy briefing, “Big Medicine: Implications of Vertical Integration for Patients, Providers, and Employers,” on Tuesday, May 19. 

Health plans, hospitals, physician practices, and pharmacies are increasingly owned by the same company. With their oversized market power, these behemoths choke competition, leaving consumers and their employers with fewer health care choices and higher bills. 

Speakers will discuss what happens to the cost and quality of health care when the insurance company owns the hospital or the hospital owns the doctor’s practice, and explore policy solutions to these problematic financial relationships that put profit-seeking over patient care. Audience Q&A will follow the panel discussion. 

When: Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 8:30–10:00 AM 

Where: Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, 500 1st Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 

Register to attend!  

Speakers include:  

• Erin Fuse Brown, JD, MPH, Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice, Brown University 

• Bob Herman, Business of Health Care Reporter, STAT (Moderator) 

• Jonathan Kanter, JD, Former Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the United States 

• Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President Policy and Strategy, Texas Oncology 

• Misha Sharp, MPH, Assistant Director of Health Policy, 32BJ 

Breakfast will be provided. Support for this event is provided by Arnold Ventures. 

Recommended Readings

• Linda J. Blumberg, Kevin Lucia, and Kennah Watts. The Complex Web of Health Care Financial Interests and Their Implications for Ever Higher Spending: An Expert Perspective. Georgetown University, Center on Health Insurance Reforms, October 2025.
• CHIR Faculty. How Has Corporatization Transformed Your State’s Health Care Market? Georgetown University, Center on Health Insurance Reforms, March 2026.
• Erin C. Fuse Brown, Hayden Rooke-Ley. Health Care Financialization. Journal of Health Care Law and Policy, 29:1, January 2026.
• Jonathan Kanter, Martin Gaynor. The Rise of Health Care Platforms. JAMA, April 2025.
• Hayden Rooke-Ley, Soleil Shah, and Erin C. Fuse Brown. Medicare Advantage and Consolidation’s New Frontier — The Danger of UnitedHealthcare for All. The New England Journal of Medicine, July 2024.
• Erin C. Fuse Brown. State Strategies to Improve Health Care Market Oversight. Milbank Memorial Fund. February 2026.
• Julia Burleson. State Spotlight: Oregon’s Multi-Pronged Approach to Corporate Influence in Physician Practices. Georgetown University, Center on Health Insurance Reforms, April 2026.
• Stacey Pogue, Kennah Watts. State Spotlight: New Massachusetts Law Enhances Oversight of Private Equity in Health Care. Georgetown University, Center on Health Insurance Reforms, March 2025.

Other Resources