The New Haven Independent reports on a common situation in healthcare today, a sleep lab that is about to close and be purchased by a hospital. In this case, there are vocal opponents and proponents.

Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) plans to purchase the sleep center that Gaylord is closing, part of a recent trend of buying up individual physician practices and even other hospitals. YNHH acquired the Hospital of St. Raphael in 2012, making it one of the country’s largest hospitals. And YNHH a not-for-profit, moved to join forces with a large hospital management company that’s looking to buy four hospitals in Connecticut and convert them to for-profit institutions.

Proponents of this kind of consolidation say it leads to more efficient and better care, at a time when older institutions are having trouble making ends meet. Critics warn that the trend leads toward “segregation” of care between private and publicly supported patients, along with higher fees and less convenience.