A new report paid for by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) suggests a merger between Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) and Wellmont Health System would “likely lead to significantly higher post-merger prices.” AHIP aims to “advocate for public policies that expand access to affordable health care coverage to all Americans through a competitive marketplace that fosters choice, quality and innovation.” Competition Economics, LLC completed the report last month and concluded a merger would give the new organization a 77% market share, which would likely cause prices to shoot up. 

Due to low interest rates and cheap capital, merger activity has been exploding in nearly every industry. Healthcare is especially devoted to merger activity with the mantra that bigger is always better. U.S. Mergers and acquisitions announced in the first 9 months of 2015 are worth about $270 billion.