The Future of US Healthcare: Why Private Practices Matter

Healthcare is not evolving with the massive-scale corporate consolidation; it’s being absorbed. The unchecked consolidation is accelerating, eroding independent practice and shifting medical decisions from clinics to boardrooms. The shift is not merely a change in business structure—it represents a fundamental reshaping of how medical decisions are made, how care is delivered, and who ultimately controls the patient-provider relationship.UnitedHealth Group’s strategic maneuver through its Optum subsidiary dramatically illustrated this trend when it purchased DaVita Medical Group for $4.9 billion in 2018. This single acquisition encompassed over 300 clinics and more than 2,300 employed or affiliated physicians. The broader context is even more alarming: according to the Physicians Advocacy Institute’s comprehensive report, physician employment by hospitals and corporate entities surged by 86% between 2012 and 2022, causing independent practices to plummet from 60.2% to just 30.4% of the market.

Medigy Insights

One psychiatric provider, for example, routinely gives cash-pay patients an extra week to cover their sessions until their next paycheck arrives, knowing that medication management can’t wait. This kind of care is only possible when providers have the autonomy to set their own terms–a freedom rapidly disappearing under corporate ownership. As one clinician put it, medicine is here to help people, not just make money. Private practice preserves that principle by allowing doctors to act on it. It remains one of the few places in healthcare where providers and patients are aligned in seeking more affordable costs, yet personal care. Unlike large institutions with opaque and inflexible pricing, private providers often operate with financial empathy, offering grace periods, setting affordable rates, and prioritizing treatment over transactions. This isn’t about charity; it’s about preserving the integrity of a system increasingly driven by profit.

Continue reading at healthcareittoday.com

Make faster decisions with community advice

Addressing Challenges in Rural and Underserved Areas and Ensuring Equitable Access to Healthcare Services with Digital Health

Telemedicine has emerged as a particularly transformative tool, enabling rural patients to access specialists without long-distance travel, reducing wait times and emergency room overcrowding. …

Posted May 14, 2025