New data published in The BMJ detailing the benefits versus harms of private equity ownership of healthcare operators reveals several “harmful impacts” PE ownership has on patients and payers.
The meta-analysis includes 55 studies assessing the beneficial, harmful, mixed or neutral impacts of PE ownership in healthcare. Not only were experts involved in the work not able to identify any consistently beneficial aspects of PE ownership, but in most cases, they observed harms that are attributable to PE models in nursing home and hospital settings.
Given the rapid growth of PE ownership in healthcare, the study’s data give pause to how such entities should be regulated, authors of the study suggested.
“The results of this study confirm the need for increased rigorous research on private equity ownership in healthcare, particularly its impacts on health outcomes and system costs and in other non-U.S. settings, such as Europe,” corresponding author of the new paper Joseph Dov Bruch, an assistant professor with the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago, and colleagues noted. “This said, the current body of evidence is robust enough to confirm that private equity ownership is a consequential and increasingly prominent element in healthcare, warranting surveillance, reporting and possibly increased regulation.”
Each of the studies included in the meta-analysis focused on different aspects of PE ownership. Of the 12 that assessed the financial impact, nine revealed higher costs for patients and payers and none showed any financial benefit of utilizing care at facilities owned by private equity firms.
Of the 27 studies that looked at PE’s effect on quality of care, 12 uncovered harmful impacts, nine showed mixed results of benefits and harms, three showed beneficial effects and three were inconclusive.
Studies that measured patients’ health outcomes also had mixed results, but overall, the group found that PE ownership was associated with inferior care, reduced nurse staffing levels and a shift towards lower nursing skill at such facilities.
The authors acknowledged study limitations, including the potential for bias as most of the studies included were based in the U.S. and may not be generalizable globally. However, they maintained that their results offer proof that there remains a need for increased regulatory attention on PE ownership in healthcare.
The detailed study is available here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.