UC Berkeley Study Sheds Light on the Growing Influence of Catholic Health Systems in U.S. Hospital Landscape
Berkeley, CA — A new study led by Alex Schulte, a PhD candidate in Health Policy at UC Berkeley’s Center for Health Management and Policy Research, reveals important trends in hospital acquisitions and their implications for health service delivery in the United States. Drawing on data from over 33,000 hospital-years between 2009 and 2022, the research shows that Catholic-owned hospitals—now comprising nearly one-fifth of U.S. nonprofit hospitals—are more likely to preserve mission-oriented services such as chaplaincy and charity care after acquisition, compared to their non-Catholic counterparts. However, the study also finds that hospitals across the board, regardless of ownership type, undergo similar cost-cutting measures following acquisition, including reductions in operating expenses and staffing levels. The findings offer timely, data-driven insight into the growing presence of Catholic health systems and contribute to ongoing policy discussions around healthcare access, ethics, and consolidation.