Research shows that as hospitals fall under fewer ownership umbrellas, prices can rise — and at significantly higher rates than their more modestly sized competitors.
Annual hospital financial reports highlight one big-picture health care trend across California: Hospitals are making increasingly higher profits on commercially insured patients, while they’re suffering steeper losses on Medicare patients.
"We live in a health care desert. There's no other way to say it," on Central Coast resident said. "We are basically beholden to two major health care companies."