Denver-area hospitals are hiring doctors by the hundreds as in-house staff, promising quality care and cost savings, but critics warn the direct-employment trend threatens patient choice and monopoly pricing from mega-hospitals.  Hospitals...

The race among hospitals to hire local physicians is heating up, even though the consequences for the cost and quality of health care are still unclear. The trend isn’t new, but hospitals in metropolitan areas across the country are quickening their pace, “driven largely by hospitals’ quest to increase market share and revenue,” according a study released by the Center for... 

Victoria Rentel, a family physician in Columbus, Ohio, joined a hospital-owned group several years ago. At first, nearly everything went fine. There were a few glitches: she'd occasionally order tests or consults at competing facilities, either for patient convenience or because of health plan coverage. When the hospital's administrators found out, they told her...