Another in a series of recent reports confirms that hospitals acquired by private equity firms routinely have worse patient outcomes, including increased rates of death. A Sept. 23 report by Annals of Internal Medicine found in particular an increase in deaths among emergency department patients receiving Medicare. Not only did these private equity hospitals have higher death rates for emergency room cases, but these facilities transfer 12% more of the most serious, most complicated cases out to other hospitals. It suggests that such hospitals only accepted simpler cases, and yet, still had higher death rates.
The study also reports that when a hospital is at fault for a patient’s death, the private equity firm is rarely held responsible. Even if the private equity firm profited from the cost-cutting that resulted in death, there are legal protections insulating the investors. In the worst-case scenario, the hospital would file for bankruptcy, potentially leaving all the other patients in the street, but the private equity portfolio unaffected. Congress could make legal changes, but many members of Congress are invested in private equity.
