Payer-provider vertical integration

Monday, May 19, 2025

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

The Brookings Institution

Saul Auditorium

1775 Massachusetts Ave NW

Washington, D.C.

20036

Brookings Office Of Communications

202.797.6105

Large national insurers—such as Humana and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum—have been rapidly acquiring physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and other provider entities, reshaping local health care markets. Proponents argue these arrangements can streamline care coordination, speed adoption of value-based payment, and steer patients toward lower-cost sites of service. Skeptics warn that the same consolidation may limit rival insurers’ network access, facilitate upcoding in Medicare Advantage and other regulatory gamesmanship, and erode clinical independence—raising important questions for patients, employers, and taxpayers alike.

On May 19, the Brookings Center on Health Policy will convene an expert panel to assess the evidence on payer-provider vertical integration and explore policy responses. Panelists will examine the motives, potential efficiencies, and competitive risks of payer-led integration, then outline concrete policy options—distinguishing the tools antitrust enforcers already possess from reforms that may require legislative or regulatory action.

Viewers can ask questions in advance by emailing [email protected] and on X @BrookingsEcon using #VerticalIntegration.

Following the program, please join us for a reception from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Welcome and introduction

Loren Adler

Fellow - Economic Studies,

Associate Director - Center on Health Policy

@LorenAdler

Panel

Robert Tyler Braun

Assistant Professor of Population Health Sciences - Weill Cornell Medical College

Cory Capps

Partner - Bates White Economic Consulting

Martin Gaynor

E.J. Barone Professorship of Economics and Health Policy - Carnegie Mellon University

@MartinSGaynor

Aditi Mehta

Economics Director of Enforcement, Antitrust Division - Department of Justice

Moderator

Loren Adler

Loren Adler

Fellow - Economic Studies,

Associate Director - Center on Health Policy

@LorenAdler