As we predicted a few days ago, SynergyHealth made its decision to pursue a formal affiliation with what will become known as Progressive Health. That, as you'll remember, is the coming together of Columbia St. Mary's and Froedtert and Community Health.
This seemed, from a layman's perspective, to be the best outcome for SynergyHealth and its Board concurred. The final negotiations remain to be finished and the target for that to be completed has been set at May 1st. This should bode well for the Menomonee Falls/Germantown/West Bend/Hartford area since there was a very real possibility that Aurora would become the defacto sole choice available. The results of our race to consolidate healthcare systems remains to be determined so far as price increases or moderation, etc. Building will continue, and that cannot but help add to costs. If over-building occurs, some organizations will suffer. Of course, us patients are going to be caught in whatever happens.
There was, many years ago now, a requirement in Wisconsin for healthcare systems to need to prove that a new facility was, in fact, required if all were to be adequately served. If that couldn't be proved, permission to build was denied. That law was wiped off the books a couple of decades ago and the result is quite apparent. The building boom has had a detrimental effect on the costs of healthcare, and that has caused an increase in the costs of health insurance since one drives the other. Is it possible that we'll once again see actual controls placed over health facility construction? I wouldn't be surprised if that were to occur.
Finally, since I got lucky with the last prognostication, what do I do for an encore? Well, let's take another peek into the not too distant future.
I expect that ProHealth based in Waukesha, that just acquired Medical Associates in Menomonee Falls, will ultimately join in some way with the emerging Progressive Health organization. ProHealth and Aurora have been in a pitched battle for some time now. That alignment would result in a very competitive group that could thwart the potential Aurora takeover of healthcare in our part of the world. It would help to keep both honest and it could help to moderate healthcare costs. If one or both took the road to hold the rate of increase to cost-of-living and nothing more, that would auger well for us consumers. Healthcare cost increases have historically been double or more the cost-of-living inflation rate.
I also expect that the few remaining smaller players in this marketplace will need to affiliate with one or the other or run the very real risk that they'll become non-entities...also rans...and will be driven out of business.
