Federal health officials would study healthcare competition in each state

Federal health officials would study healthcare competition at the state level each year. The study would cover worker licensing, healthcare mergers, state hospital approval rules, insurance choices, and provider counts. It would also measure how much healthcare markets are concentrated among fewer providers. Health officials would consult federal competition officials, and the Federal Trade Commission would provide requested information needed to study mergers. The study would run during each of the ten years following enactment.

Health officials would send annual findings to Congress and publish reports and interactive data online. Reports would go to the named House and Senate committees and appear on the responsible health office’s website. The collected data would be publicly accessible and interactive there. Reports and data would be due by the end of each of the ten study years.