Patients deserve a healthcare system built around their needs, not the interests of disconnected providers. Vertical integration—bringing together insurers, care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics—offers a new model that improves coordination, drives better outcomes, and lowers the cost and burden patients face.
A powerful example is Carelon Health (formerly CareMore), serving over 125,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients across nine states. Their integrated model has yielded remarkable results: total costs are 18% below industry averages, hospital admissions are 42% lower, average hospital stays are 32% shorter, and diabetic amputation rates are down by two-thirds. These aren’t just statistics—they represent people spending more time with loved ones instead of in hospital beds.
Integrated systems allow clinicians to share real-time health data across care sites. Electronic medical records and clinical decision support tools reduce medication errors by up to 80%, directly benefiting patient safety. They also enable proactive follow-up, avoiding preventable care disruptions that typically lead to complications or ER visits.
Patients with chronic conditions—such as diabetes, heart failure, or behavioral health issues—need consistent, coordinated care. Integrated behavioral health programs have demonstrated annual patient savings of over $3,000 and a 16% reduction in total costs. Services work more effectively when primary care providers, specialists, pharmacists, and mental health professionals collaborate under the same system.
Similarly, vertically integrated specialty pharmacies—often hospital-run—can reduce total cost of care by 13% while delivering medications 5–8 days faster. Patients skip extra trips, avoid delays, and receive personalized care from teams familiar with their complex conditions.
Further, vertical integration strengthens our national resilience in times of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, integrated systems were better equipped to scale telehealth services rapidly, coordinate vaccine distribution, and maintain continuity of care for high-risk patients. Their unified data systems and shared logistics networks enabled them to pivot more quickly than fragmented systems, protecting vulnerable populations and minimizing care disruptions. Patients with chronic illnesses, who might otherwise have faced dangerous gaps in treatment, were able to access virtual consultations and medication refills seamlessly. This adaptability isn’t just a theoretical benefit — it’s a critical safeguard against future public health emergencies.
Moreover, integrated healthcare models empower patients to play an active role in their care. By simplifying communication and consolidating points of contact, patients can more easily understand their treatment plans, access educational resources, and engage with care managers who guide them through complex decisions. This shared decision-making fosters trust, improves adherence to therapies, and enhances overall satisfaction. Rather than bouncing between siloed providers who each see only a fragment of their story, patients in integrated systems benefit from a continuous, whole-person approach that puts their health goals at the forefront. In an era when medical complexity often overwhelms patients, vertical integration offers a path toward clarity, compassion, and better health outcomes.
Critics often cite higher prices in vertically integrated systems. Yet many of the cost increases undercutting patients arise from horizontal hospital consolidation, not integration that aligns payer and provider priorities. Properly structured vertical systems, especially those linked to outcomes-based payment models, are associated with stable or even reduced overall care costs .
For the patient, actual value means improved capability, comfort, and calm: the ability to function, relief from pain and anxiety, and clarity in treatment paths. Integration delivers all three. When the care team shares goals, data, and responsibility, patients experience seamless transitions, fewer duplicate tests, and less chance of overlooked issues.
Vertical integration also preserves access in underserved areas. Small, rural hospitals that join integrated networks can remain open and continue to offer services they couldn’t support on their own. For families in remote regions, it means fewer miles traveled for care and more consistent follow-up.
Yes, vertical integration carries risks—pricing consolidation can harm competition. But the solution isn’t tearing the model down. It’s about enacting smart oversight: price transparency, enforcement of quality benchmarks, and tools that enable patients to compare performance across integrated providers.
When done right, vertical integration empowers care teams to focus on you, not billing codes, reimbursement tiers, or redundant processes. It doesn’t replace choice with bureaucracy; it elevates choice through accountability and coordination. It’s time to embrace integration—not fear it—and demand systems that deliver better outcomes, lower hassle, and real dignity for patients.
Madison Campbell is the CEO and Founder of Leda Health, where she and her team are working to transform the systems surrounding sexual assault collection, care, and prevention. Madison has been mentioned over 1000 times in the press, in publications such as Buzzfeed, The New York Post, CNN, ABC News, Cosmopolitan, Vox, and more. She has also appeared on numerous podcasts and was a TEDx speaker.
