Why health systems are turning to cross-market mergers

Becker’s Hospital Review – Tuesday, December 30, 2025
By Alan Condon

Cross-market mergers — transactions between health systems operating in separate geographic regions — are becoming a more prominent trend in hospital consolidation as organizations continue to shift toward multiregion operating models.

Over the past year, several large systems have pursued cross-market deals to gain scale, diversify risk and strengthen payer negotiations, often in lieu of same-market mergers that face heightened antitrust scrutiny.

While these transactions typically do not eliminate local competition for patients, they are reshaping how health systems think about growth, leverage and long-term sustainability.

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