The Ron Lanton Report: Is Healthcare Consolidation Reaching Its Limits?

This episode of The Ron Lanton Report examines whether healthcare consolidation in the United States may be approaching a structural limit. For years, industry strategy has assumed continued consolidation across health systems, purchasing organizations, and distribution channels, driving efficiency through scale, centralized purchasing, and simplified contracting.

The discussion explores how even modest fragmentation could reshape supply chains, contracting dynamics, and distribution predictability. If consolidation slows, manufacturers and distributors may face more complex contracting environments, more distributed negotiating leverage, and less centralized purchasing behavior.

The episode also considers the international implications, including how changes in the U.S. healthcare structure could influence global launch strategies, pricing assumptions, and cross-border reference pricing systems.