Insurers Should Incentivize Non-Drug Treatments for Chronic Pain
An LDI Fellow and Chronic Pain Researcher Call on Health Plans To Lower Barriers to Physical Therapy, Acupuncture, and Interdisciplinary Pain Care
Blog Post
Chart of the Day: What’s All This Brouhaha? Today’s Private Equity Purchases of Physician Practices Look Much Like the Past
Penn LDI Study Provides Historical Analysis and Insight for the Future
Print:
The growth of private equity investment in health care is facing sharp scrutiny from investors, regulators, and the public. Some view private equity as a key to transforming the U.S. health system. Others raise concerns that profits for corporate investors will be at the expense of patients’ health, workers’ safety, and affordability. LDI Senior Fellows Mark V. Pauly and Lawton Robert Burns argue that we have seen this movie before. Looking at past private equity purchases will help us understand the future.
In their study, published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, they identify two historical waves of private equity investment in physician practices—in the 1990s and from the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to the present. They then assess the similarities between the investment goals of each wave—shown in the table above. Pauly and Burns say that strategies across private equity investment have largely stayed consistent. However, the investigators say there’s “less public information on firm performance” today. So, they argue, the current “brouhaha” should be tempered by past experience.
The study, “Equity Investment in Physician Practices: What’s All This Brouhaha?,” was published on February 7, 2024 in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law. Authors include Mark V. Pauly and Lawton Robert Burns.
Author
Miles Meline, MBE
Policy Coordinator
More on Health Care Access & Coverage
Medicaid Reviews May Disenroll Vulnerable Dual Eligibles
Chart of the Day: Researchers Urge Easier Renewals and Better Support To Prevent Gaps in Care
New Study Reveals Death Rates During SSDI’s 24-Month Wait for Medicare
While They Wait for Medicare, People Approved for Social Security Disability Die at Higher Rates Compared to the General Public
How Parents Can Prepare for Major Medicaid Changes
Two Pediatricians Share Key Dates and Practical Next Steps
Medicare’s Hidden Fix for High Drug Costs
Medicare’s Payment Plan Can Ease Seniors’ Crushing Drug Costs but Medicare Buries it in the Fine Print
Patients Face New Barriers for GLP-1 Drugs Like Wegovy and Ozempic
Even With Lower Prices, Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Insurers Tighten Coverage for Drugs Like Mounjaro and Zepbound Using Prior Authorization and Other Tools