It's what many suspected. Once private equity firms take over a hospital, patient care suffers.
A recent study found that in hospitals acquired by private equity firms, the patient death rate in emergency departments increases, and there is an increase in patient transfers to other hospitals.
It is thought that this is due to cuts in staffing and salary cuts. Other cuts (equipment? supplies?) may also be occurring.
It appears that rather than patient care, profits are #1 to private equity firms.
After hospitals were acquired by private equity firms, patient death rates in the emergency departments rose by 13% compared with similar hospitals, according to research published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The research, which compared outcomes at hospitals over a 10-year period, adds fresh evidence to previous studies showing harmful patient outcomes and higher costs among health care entities owned by profit-oriented financiers.