Senate Report Criticizes Private Equity in Healthcare

A recent bipartisan report from the U.S. Senate Budget Committee highlights serious concerns regarding private equity firms' impact on American healthcare, particularly in hospitals. The report, titled 'Profits Over Patients,' accuses firms such as Apollo Global Management and Leonard Green & Partners of prioritizing profits over patient care, leading to hazardous conditions in facilities they acquire, especially in underserved areas. Senate members, including Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, have called for reforms, urging greater accountability to ensure that financial structures in hospitals support patient medical needs rather than just investor returns. The Senate investigation also revealed troubling links between private equity ownership and incidents of patient abuse, exemplified by a case at Ottumwa Regional Health Center in Iowa. As private equity continues to exert influence over healthcare systems, lawmakers are increasingly raising alarms about the long-term implications for patient care and community health. The findings resonate with recently published studies that corroborate the adverse effects of private equity on healthcare quality.