The New Health Care Industry

This conference marks the launch of the new Solomon Center for Health Policy and Law at Yale Law School. The Solomon Center is the first of its kind to focus on the governance, business, and practice of health care in the United States. This conference will mark the first under the Center, which will focus on bringing together leading experts and practitioners from the public and private sectors to address cutting-edge questions of health law and policy.

And, indeed, one of the most cutting-edge and important issues in health care today is the recent and dramatic consolidation of the healthcare industry. This trend has spanned all sectors of health care, from hospitals and medical practices, to pharmaceuticals and insurance companies. Although the media has given this issue attention, there has been little in-depth academic or interdisciplinary analysis of how consolidation has changed health care markets, financing, and the practice of medicine. Another important question is how the Affordable Care Act has contributed to these developments, with its encouragement of health care integration and "accountable care."

Yale Law School's groundbreaking interdisciplinary conference, which will be co-sponsored by the Yale School of Management, will bring together leading voices from health care industry, government, and academia to evaluate the legal, economic, and medical effects of consolidation.