Herewith a look at rise of “super-regional” hospital systems and what it means for healthcare.

Kaufman, Hall & Associates has analyzed the  increase in hospital mergers and acquisitions in recent years. The company says that such transactions rose 18 percent in 2015 from 2014.

This trend toward consolidation is most dramatic in urban areas and has extended beyond the hospital sector to physician groups in  many major metro areas.

But, as Becker’s Hospital Review has noted: “Instead of caving into market pressures and selling, some physician groups have grown into market leaders on the same level as their large hospital-owned competitors.”

The news services adds: “Although hospitals view dominant independent medical groups as competitors, insurers have embraced these ‘super regional’ physician groups as a way to slow hospital leverage” in, especially, pricing.