Patients see higher bills after doctors sell practices

The doctor might be the same, but her bill's going to be higher. A strong trend of hospitals buying up physicians practices as well as hospital mergers is threatening to also drive up costs to patients—at least in the short term. A key factor in that consolidation trend is doctors now are willing to work for someone else to get rid of the hassle of paperwork, fighting with insurance companies, increased overhead costs and other duties that keep them away from patients.