In this paper, we estimate how hospital ownership of physicians' practices affects their patients' hospital choices. We … match data on the hospital admissions of Medicare beneficiaries, including the identity of their admitting physician, with … data on the identity of the owner of the admitting physician's practice. We find that a hospital's ownership of an …

In this paper, we estimate how hospital ownership of physicians' practices affects their patients' hospital choices. We … match data on the hospital admissions of Medicare beneficiaries, including the identity of their admitting physician, with … data on the identity of the owner of the admitting physician's practice. We find that a hospital's ownership of an …

: the number of physicians in the physician's group (if any); the physician's integration with or employment by a hospital … or hospital system; and the average age of the other physicians in the physician's group. We present three key findings … solo physicians. Second, although physicians who are employed by a hospital or practice in a hospital-owned group prescribe …