Two of Wisconsin’s biggest hospital systems are considering a partnership. While there have been no major agreements yet, UW Health of Madison and Aurora Health Care of Milwaukee are looking at ways to improve the delivery of affordable health care.
UW Health includes UW Hospital in Madison and its related children’s and cancer facilities, plus 45 clinics in Wisconsin and Illinois and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Aurora Health Care is the state’s largest hosptial group with 15 hospitals in Wisconsin and 159 clinics in Wisconsin and Illinois. Together, the two systems employ around 2700 doctors.
The Milwaukee Journel Sentinel reports that the talks come in the midst of a nationwide surge in health care consolidation. According to the Alliance for Health Reform, in 2012 there were 94 hospital mergers, up from 92 in 2011.
