A Harvard Medical School national study reveals higher patient death rates at private equity-owned US hospitals than at hospitals not private equity-owned, reports Jake Miller. Researchers at University of Pittsburgh and University of Chicago also participated in the study. What happens when private equity firms acquire hospitals? They cut ER staff and salaries.
The researchers found a 13 percent increase in deaths among Medicare ER patients in private equity-owned hospitals over Medicare ER patients in hospitals not private equity-owned.
The researchers believe that significant staffing and salary cuts–as much as 18 percent–are the likely reason for the rise in emergency room patient deaths. And, they say that private equity’s profit-making strategies are especially dangerous for people with Medicare who tend to be more vulnerable than younger patients.
The researchers analyzed ten years of Medicare claims data. They looked at more than 1 million emergency room visits and 121,000 hospitalizations in intensive care units in 49 private equity-owned hospitals and compared patient health outcomes to those in 293 non-private-equity owned hospitals.
Private equity-owned hospitals also tend to provide patients shorter intensive care stays and transfer patients ER out to other hospitals. The hospital ERs likely don’t have the resources to appropriately care for ER patients.
Research published earlier this year in Health Affairs had similar findings. Patients have a 42 percent higher likelihood of dying in the 30 days post hospitalization in a private-equity-owned hospital. If you need even a simple surgery on an emergency basis, avoid private-equity-owned hospitals.
Private equity firms have been buying up provider practices, hospitals and an array of other health care businesses.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Private equity is destroying ER care
- Private equity buying up orthopedics practices
- Patient safety at risk in private-equity controlled emergency rooms
- Oregon moves toward restricting private equity from owning physician practices
- Avoid private equity-owned hospitals
