A new report from the CROWE Center at UW–Madison reveals an intensifying healthcare affordability crisis

A new report from the CROWE Center at UW–Madison reveals growing hospital market concentration across Wisconsin, pointing to an intensifying healthcare affordability crisis. Analyzing inpatient hospital discharges between 2018 and 2025, researchers found that seven of Wisconsin's eight hospital referral regions are now highly concentrated.

This shift has been driven largely by hospital and physician practice mergers and ownership changes rather than patient preference, leading to increased physician-hospital affiliations and in-system referrals that raise overall care costs.

Wisconsin Manufacturing and Commerce Associate Vice President of Government Relations Rachel Ver Velde emphasized that reduced market competition directly results in higher prices for families and employers. The findings build on previous CROWE research showing Wisconsin hospital prices are 26 percent higher than those in neighboring Illinois.

With 93 percent of state employers reporting healthcare cost increases this year and 96 percent supporting stronger price transparency, business leaders and advocates are calling for reforms to restore market competition, increase pricing clarity, and improve overall affordability.