The real impact of private equity on health care

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [What Happens When Private Equity Buys Your Doctor's Office?]( By Haley Weiss Health Reporter While the rest of us were learning to make sourdough during the pandemic, private-equity firms were refining a skill: turning profits by buying out health care providers. The steady demand for certain health care facilities, like nursing homes, caught investors attention. The amount spent on health care facility buyouts in 2021 and 2022 globally was roughly 60% higher than in the previous two years. In most countries where private equity has a foothold in health care, big takeovers are only expected to continue. Earlier his month, a team at Columbia University and the University of Chicago published the first large-scale study looking at private equity takeovers across specialities, countries, and more. “Our most unequivocal evidence is that private equity is associated with increased costs,” says Alexander Borsa, a Ph.D. candidate in sociomedical sciences at Columbia University and a lead author on the study. While the researchers found a less definitive effect on the quality of care after private equity buyout, the care changes they did find “skewed a little more toward mixed or harmful,” particularly in facilities like nursing homes, where patients are especially vulnerable to add-on fees for everyday services. The solution, the authors say, has to start with increased transparency. And while I wait for the government to take care of that, I’m off to Google who owns all my doctors’ offices. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [Who Autism Research Leaves Out]( By Hari Srinivasan If we want to truly understand autism, we must expand the zone of the researchable autistic, writes Hari Srinivasan. [Read More »]( [A New Poll Explains Why Republicans Keep Pushing Unpopular Abortion Restrictions]( By Philip Elliott The poll suggests most Republicans still think abortion should usually be illegal, a position at odds with most of the country. [Read More »]( [What to Know About the Latest Advances in Managing Severe Asthma]( By Markham Heid New innovations in biologics and phenotyping excite doctors. [Read More »]( [Why Do You Get Sleepy After Eating? These Are the Top Theories]( By Markham Heid Researchers have turned up evidence of "food coma" in insects, snakes, worms and rats. (Originally published in 2019.) [Read More »]( [6 Surprising Things You Think Are Making You Happy—But Are Doing the Opposite]( By Angela Haupt Chasing career success, dodging negative emotions, and living in a city all make the list. [Read More »]( ONE MORE READ FROM ELSEWHERE [The overlooked risks of marijuana addiction]( As cities and states embrace the legalization of recreational marijuana, the harms of addiction is often glossed over. As David Ovalle and Fenit Nirappil report in The Washington Post, that's in part because of anti-drug campaigners' long history of overstating the risks, but it also means those suffering from addiction struggle to be taken seriously. [Read More »]( If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Oliver Staley, and edited by Oliver. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.