COMPETING FOR LESS MONEYTHE FUTURE IS HERE
Strong interest in a contest for which less money is the prize reflects the scramble taking place among hospitals for an edge in an increasingly competitive market. In the 1980s, administrators recouped losses from skimpy Medicare reimbursements by jacking up prices to corporate and other private customers. Now, big companies and business coalitions are squeezing hospital margins by negotiating volume discounts. At the same time, a glut of empty hospital beds in most cities is intensifying competition for patients. Hospitals that can't deliver cost-effective care will be losers in this decadeand so will the doctors affiliated with them.




