Physician Management Companies and Neonatology Prices, Utilization, and Clinical Outcomes.

Background And Objectives: Physician management companies (PMCs) acquire physician practices and contract with hospitals to provide physician management services. We evaluated the association between PMC-NICU affiliations and prices, spending, utilization, and clinical outcomes.

Methods: We linked commercial claims to PMC-NICU affiliations and conducted difference- in-differences analyses comparing changes in prices paid for physician services per critical or intensive care NICU day, length of the NICU stay, physician spending (total paid amount for physician services during stay), spending on hospital services (total paid amount for hospital services during stay), and clinical outcomes in PMC-affiliated versus non-PMC-affiliated NICUs.