Private Equity’s Provider Buyup Sparks Concern, but Big Insurers May Benefit

Private equity (PE) ownership of physician practices and other providers has, on a national scale, led to higher prices in health care, experts said during a June 6 panel convened by the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation. One expert also added that health insurers are poised to benefit from the PE ownership trend in health care delivery, as insurers frequently snap up providers when PE entities “exit” their takeover of providers. 

In his presentation, Atul Gupta, Ph.D., assistant professor of health care management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, made the case that “private equity [ownership of providers] has dramatically increased over the last few years.”