Private Equity Hospital Takeovers Tied to Medicare Patient Deaths

A new research paper has uncovered a concerning trend: hospitals acquired by private equity firms show an elevated mortality rate among Medicare beneficiaries admitted through the emergency department. This latest investigation, published in the prestigious *Annals of Internal Medicine*, adds to a growing body of evidence linking private equity’s increasing presence in the healthcare sector to a decline in patient safety and outcomes.

The study’s findings reinforce an alarming pattern observed across various healthcare settings. Martin Kenney, a distinguished professor in human ecology at the University of California, Davis, and author of “Private Equity and the Demise of the Local,” articulated the consistent nature of these results. “Each of them sort of comes up with the same result,” Kenney observed, summarizing the broader impact. “Private equity takes over things in the medical field, quality goes down, prices go up,” he explained, highlighting the dual concerns of deteriorating care and escalating costs.

A Disturbing Pattern Emerges

Indeed, prior research has painted a bleak picture of private equity’s influence. Earlier studies have identified increased deaths in nursing homes under private equity ownership, a rise in post-operative complications for common inpatient surgeries, and even an uptick in hospital-acquired conditions such as bloodstream infections and injuries stemming from falls. This consistent stream of data suggests a systemic issue, prompting scrutiny from various stakeholders.

Notably, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a strong condemnation of private equity’s role in exacerbating patient outcomes towards the latter part of the Biden administration, signaling high-level concern regarding these business practices within the critical healthcare infrastructure.

Study Methodology and Alarming Results

For this most recent examination, researchers undertook a meticulous comparison. They analyzed staff levels, compensation, and patient mortality across 49 hospitals that had been acquired by private equity firms. These were then benchmarked against a control group of 293 non-private equity hospitals. The disparities found were stark: hospitals under private equity control consistently exhibited leaner staffing numbers and offered lower salaries to their employees.

The most critical finding revolved around patient mortality. The study revealed an alarming seven additional deaths per 10,000 patients in the emergency departments of private equity-owned hospitals. When extrapolated, this figure translates to approximately 700 excess deaths among the million emergency department visits that the researchers scrutinized. Crucially, all patients whose medical records were included in this comprehensive analysis were recipients of Medicare, underscoring the vulnerability of this specific demographic.

Zirui Song, an associate professor of healthcare policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the study’s co-authors, emphasized the particular risks associated with staffing reductions in emergency departments serving Medicare patients. “Some patients in emergency departments come in critically ill,” Song noted, highlighting how insufficient staffing can have dire consequences when rapid and expert care is paramount.

The cumulative evidence from this and preceding studies presents a compelling argument for increased oversight and regulation of private equity investments in healthcare. The recurring theme of declining patient quality and heightened mortality rates demands urgent attention to protect some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Source: The Guardian